A Fox's Deception
by NkyOT
Summary: His greatest prank: to hide behind a mask, deceiving them without them even knowing. Will they ever discover the Fox's greatest deception? Full Summary Inside.
1. Full Summary

His greatest prank on all those to ever meet him - they have no clue. A Fox is truly the most cunning creature. His mask is so misleading that not even the greatest ninja can see the true Fox behind it. They say a ninja must look underneath the underneath. If that's true, then his comrades must not be true ninja. See as he laughs at their blindness. Will they ever see that he's the true master among them? He's just playing with them, making them believe that he is a foolish, naive kid. This is his story of a Fox's life behind his mask - his lie, his puzzle, his game, his prank. This is the Fox's greatest deception...

* * *

**This is a Joint Fic with Daughter of Life and Death aka. Mistress Dementra. Please Read! **

**(Rated T to be safe) (NonYaoi) (Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto)**


	2. The Beginning

**This is a joint Fic with 'Daughter of Life and Death', aka. 'Mistress Dementra', so you can find it on either of our accounts. The Legend is as follows:**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

**

* * *

**

**A Fox's Deception  
_The Beginning_**

"Bakemono!"

"Youkai!"

"Hitokiri!"

A monster, a demon, a manslayer; along with other names harsher than the last, that's what they called him; nothing but a monster… for the simple fact that he existed.

_One single man had stood his ground as everyone else retreated. They retreated on his orders. It was Yondaime Hokage. He stood tall and proud on top of his summon, Gamabunta – the boss of the Toad Summons. Unflinchingly, he faced the demon, Kyuubi._

Uzumaki Naruto, just turned four, ran through the streets of Konoha. No one bothered to lend a hand to him as he desperately searched for a haven in which he could escape from the horrible villagers. Doors and windows closed as he ran by, for the mothers didn't want their children to see such a bloodied sight… even though the mothers wanted to join it themselves. He ran with tears streaming unchecked down his bloody and dirty face. They hurled rocks and jagged objects his way, not even hesitating before throwing another. No one would help him, for who would ever help a monster?

_Its nine tails whipped through the air destroying whatever they touched. Bloodshot and crazed red eyes stared at its blonde prey. Foam frothed out of its mouth as it howled towards the beautiful night sky, hauntingly serene despite the terror reining beneath the stars._

"You deserve to die for the hell you've caused!"

_The sky and the ground trembled under its terrible might, all but one single man. His blue eyes held a steely determination as he stared the demon down. There was no tint of fear in his features, much to the demon's frustration. It howled once more hoping to see fear from its prey, but it failed._

Perhaps they were right, but he doesn't know for he doesn't remember what he had done to deserve such hatred. They screamed and yelled curses at him, but for the most part, they fell upon deaf ears. So many times he had heard the same things over and over again. He ran for his life, just like every birthday, knowing that there was no where safe for him. He had no home to return to and no family to protect him. He was nothing more than an orphan, a demon and a monster.

_Yondaime Hokage, ignoring the raging beast, performed a set of very complicated hand seals before muttering the name of the ominous jutsu. A bright light blinded the whole sky before, after a few minutes, it faded, leaving the stars still shining overhead as if nothing had happened… Finally, it was over._

Crying out, he fell and scraped his knees harshly, before tripping and stumbling to his feet once more. He couldn't see clearly from the tears pooling in cerulean eyes.

'_What did I do?'_ He thought as he stumbled again, asking the villagers the silent questions he had long ago given up on voicing aloud. _'What did I _ever _do to you to deserve such treatment? It's not fair! I should at least know what did wrong!'_

No one gave him an answer, they never did... No matter how many times he asked, they just threw glares, names and things his way… never answering, no matter how many times he pleaded with them to stop or tell him what he had done wrong… They never answered and they never stopped… and he knew that they never will.

He quickly ran for the cover of the forest up ahead. Sobbing, he dived into the darkest parts of the woods, wishing with all his might that he could get away unseen. He heard one or two of the villagers dive into the forest after him, hot on his tail. He could hear his ragged breath as he ran as fast as his small legs could carry him. His heart was pounding in his ears. He didn't know what to do or where to go. He was just a scared little kid all alone in the forest, being chased by some really terrible villagers. But he was safe there, safer than he ever was in the village… The village in which every where he went, every corner he turned, there would be another hateful villager waiting just for him. In here, there were many places to hide, many places to get away from the villagers, so that he could live to see another day.

Suddenly, he gave a startled cry as he tripped and fell down a steep drop, which was hidden from his sight by the thick undergrowth below. He tumbled head over heels, his arms flailing out helplessly. He screamed as his arm snagged against a rock. Dimly, he heard something snap. Everything was a blur to him. Just as suddenly, he stopped, his body colliding with a tree, his head smashing against the bark. Vaguely, he could hear the men over head. Fortunately, he was hidden from their sight by the very undergrowth he missed before he succumbed to the inky blackness surging from the corners of his vision. His last thoughts were hoping that the thin piece of undergrowth could save his life.

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Drip_

Drops of water were falling down onto his face, waking him up. Naruto opened his eyes only to have another drop of water splash into his sapphire blue eyes. He sat up and rubbed his small hand across them before looking around. It was dim and dark with water pooled across the floor as far as his eyes can see. He was sitting in a sewer-like place from what he could tell. _'Where am I? How did I get here? I thought I was in the forest. Perhaps someone _did_ find me and threw me in here. I_must _find a way out!'_ The blonde stood up and looked around, hopelessly lost.

However, just a moment later, the pipes in the corridor caught his eye. It was almost pitch black; they were mounted on the wall, fading into the darkness. _'Perhaps I can find my way out!' _Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Naruto slowly stood up and put his hand on the pipes, which were about half his size, and bravely followed them along the wall. Soon, an enormous door entered into his vision from the dank darkness surrounding him. The door was made of some very hard, firm wood. It was taller than him by at least ten times. Following his instincts, which had never guided him wrong before, Naruto opened the door.

On the other side of the strange door, was a gigantic room. It was even larger then the door! At the very end of the room, was a vast cage. Naruto made his slow and cautious way towards it; curious despite himself. Just as he was about five meters from said cage, he saw two giant red eyes gazing intently at him. He stumbled back in shook and tumbled to the floor.

For an age he just sat there, trembling slightly, under the scrutinizing gaze. Intimidated by the sight, he said not a word, until, surprisingly, there came a puzzling rumbling sound. He soon realized that it was coming from the shadows of the cage, from the creature to which the piercing eyes belonged.

"A-Are you..." Naruto stuttered as his tiny voice echoed in the now silent cage. It seemed that its focus was entirely on the blonde. Getting annoyed, he gathered up all his courage and glared the creature right in its crimson eyes. "Are you laughing_ at me?-!" _The small boy demanded, quite angrily.

The beast's rumbling grew louder until it could be clearly perceived as laughter. From the shadows, the eyes blinked and moved forwards as the creature moved from the darkness and into the light. Naruto's eyes widened in fright until they were ready to pop out of his head and he fell backwards once more, all courage gone in an instant, to be replaced with stunned awe.

"W-Who are you?" Naruto gasped. The beast stood at the bars, taller than anything Naruto could ever imagine. He stood – Naruto imagined – with a smile upon his fox features. The beast chuckled again.

"**Who am I?" **The red furred monster repeated. "**How can you not know who I am?" **His nine tails swung gracefully in the back ground as he spoke. Naruto would be mesmerized by their hypnotic motion, had his gaze not been draw to the creature's face. **"**_**I**_**, kit, am the most feared demon of all."** In the back of his mind, Naruto realized that he was a very proud demon, so he should probably treat him with utter respect if he valued his life, which he really did.

"Gomen nasai," Naruto started apprehensively, "But… I don't know any demons living in Konoha…"

The demons laughter returned. _**'This boy amuses me to no end.'**_

"**I'm not living in Konoha, kit, not technically at least…"**

"Demo, then… Where am I? And who are you?"

"**I, little kit, am the Kyuubi no Youko... You may call me Sekimusha"**

Naruto stepped back with fear written clearly on his face, "But– but Yondaime killed you!" Suddenly he realized something and stood there, frozen as a statue, "You're not dead, are you? He didn't kill you… He _sealed_ you!"

'_**This boy's really smart, especially at his age… I doubt any humans with the childhood that he has would've figured it out so soon… Heck, I don't even think any normal teenage humans would've figured it out…'**_

Meanwhile, Naruto realized some other things. He wasted no time in voicing them aloud.

"And that must be why there's a seal on the cage! Demo… It can't just be anywhere, right? I mean, what kind of paper seal can withstand a great beast like you?"

The Kyuubi's ego swelled at that comment. He could almost see the cogs turning in the young boy's mind and for a moment he wondered if the kit would grow up to become a genius… All the while, Naruto kept right on thinking.

"Ano… Wouldn't there have to be a much stronger seal somewhere? I mean… it's just a slip of paper and… matte…"

"**This little seal, kit, is just a representation… Think… What do you expect a seal to look like? A seal so powerful that it binds me here… Day in and day out for the past four years…" **The Kyuubi's voice turned to a growling bitter note, however all the while nudging the boy in the right direction… He figured he'd let the kit figure it out on his own.

Naruto thought hard. '_A seal… a seal that powerful would have to be written out a lot… Ink… Over…Over something that held the demon… So that the demon could not escape...' _An image suddenly flashed through his mind. His head shot up to look the beast –somewhat fearfully– in the eye.

"On my stomach… there has always been a strange tattoo on my stomach… I noticed that whenever I tried to practice being a ninja... It would appear…" Naruto swallowed in apprehension. "Is it possible that… Is it possible you…-?" The young boy trailed off and he could've sworn that for a single split second, something akin to pity flashed through the eyes of the great kitsune.

"**Yes, kit." **was all that he said.

"Then, I'm right…-? You are sealed in me?"

The beast nodded at his question, taking note of the sad, somber expression suddenly spreading over the boy's features as Naruto sat down in shock.

"…That's why everyone hates me, isn't it? But– …it doesn't make sense. I'm not you. I'm just your jailor, the only thing between you and them. Why would they hate me?"

Kyuubi chuckled despite the boy's obvious distress, **"You're very smart, aren't you kit? Yes, you are correct. You are my jailor and this is your mind. The close-minded, puny little humans failed to realize what a four year old could! How**_** rich!**_** They use the excuse that you are me, which you currently are **_**not… –**_**after all, I am the strongest Bijuu there is and I would've killed them all for actually looking at me in the wrong way – just to vent their anger and hostility onto you."**

"Demo…" Naruto protested, looking up at the Kyuubi with an almost pleading look. "Why won't they see that I'm not you?"

The Bijuu looked upon the child's face with sympathy in his usually demonic eyes.

"**Maybe, Kit, it's not because they won't see… Maybe it's because they don't **_**want**_** to see…"**

"Huh?" The four year old gazed up at him, confused and anxious.

"**Think about it, Kit. Humans are naturally selfish and hateful creatures. They lost a lot on the day that I came to Konoha. Those puny humans needed a scapegoat; someone to vent their anger on… and you were there… they placed all the blame on you…"**

Naruto seemed surprised that the Demon Lord was offering comfort through his words. Maybe, just maybe, the demon wasn't as bad as everyone thought.

"Oh…" After a pause, the blonde continued, "Then why did you attack Konoha?"

Kyuubi looked at him, **"I was me, yet it wasn't me, on that day. A human, that smelt and looked very much like a snake, came one day and placed a very seal on me. I went berserk and filled with blood lust. Konoha was just a village in my way. After I got sealed, the Snake's seal started to wear off. Little by little, I got my mind back and today I finally regained myself, so I called you."**

"So… can you teach me to become stronger?" Naruto looked up with determination burning in his eyes, "I need to become stronger to prove the villagers wrong! I'll show them that even someone like me can become the best ninja ever! Then they'll have to say sorry… I don't think I can truly forgive them… but that's another story…" The four year old boy looked up with unwavering courage as he stared into the eyes of the Bijuu Lord. "Please, Kyuubi, can you teach me?"

The demon surveyed the boy for a long time, looking him up and down; little Uzumaki Naruto, just four years old… a very smart four year old… a prodigy trained by a Bijuu…

"**Yes, Kit… I will teach you."**

"So, can I call you Musha?"

------

**Seven years later…**

It was four a.m.

Who the hell got up at four a.m.?

Well, a shinobi did, but at eleven years old, Naruto wasn't a shinobi… yet. He was in the academy, training to become the 'world's greatest Hokage'… or so he led people to believe. The truth is he just wanted to make a better place for the outcasts of this cruel world. As he jogged around Konoha, he reflected upon that fact.

He didn't have to aim to be strong, for his training with Kyuubi had made him a better –future– shinobi than he liked to let people know… If he showed anyone how capable he really was, he was afraid they would beat him harder than they already did… or in the worst case scenario… slaughter him. Until he was strong enough and can find other outcasts to protect, he would keep his mask on – no matter what.

It wasn't as bad as it had been at first, though. The first thing Sekimusha had taught him was how to avoid the villagers… basically, upping his six senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste and sensing –, along with charka control. Things had been better from that day forward… apart from the fact that the Bijuu was being a real slave driver to the poor boy.

That was why Naruto was doing his usual daily run with his usual weights – both charka weights and gravity weights – strapped to each limb. After that he had to do 100 push ups and equally as tiring sit ups… and that was just the daily warm up. As he ran, Naruto went through his timetable for that day.

As he had gotten older, Naruto had grown accustom to not having anyone to rely on, except for himself and Sekimusha – well, not that Sekimusha really helps him besides the intense training. He learnt stealth, so he could steal the equipment and necessities he needed. He started to pull pranks, to practice his ninja abilities and to fool the villagers.

Naruto's stealth farther increased as ninja chased him all around Konoha for the pranks pulled. First it was the Genin, then the Chuunin, then the Jounin and, last but not least, the ANBU. As soon as he got the ANBU involved and after he tested himself against them, he started to slow down enough that the other ninja won't get suspicious. After a while, the ANBU and the Jounin stayed out of it. It was usually the Chuunin who chased him now. Of course, he let's Iruka – the one Chuunin that he liked – capture him on purpose.

To the outside world, he was a hyperactive, annoying, loud, boisterous wannabe-ninja… a dead last in the academy with the lowest passing scores you could get. However, this wasn't him at all. Uzumaki Naruto was in fact smart, not as talkative, kept himself to himself and was probably better than most, if not all, in his class… The best thing was that no one had a clue… The villagers hated him, but he was no threat to them at all; or so they thought. He kept his mask in place whenever he sensed someone within a two mile radius of him… he didn't show anyone just what he could really do.

Pausing, only slightly out of breath, Naruto began to ready himself for his charka control exercises. Sekimusha had already had him master tree walking, water walking – both calm water and rough – and air walking. He'd also pretty much got the hang of walking up waterfalls, seeing as he'd been trying that since he was five.

Finally, the sun started to rise and Naruto arrived back at his apartment in time to get ready for another day at the academy. As he splashed water on his face from the bathroom sink, he realized he'd already 'failed' the Genin exam twice… seeing as Sekimusha had told him to. Next time, he decided, he would pass.

Pausing on his way out of the bathroom, he turned towards the mirror. He saw that he had bags under his eyes… he hadn't slept well the night before. He'd had a dream… no… more like a memory of the past. In his dreams, he practically relived the most horrible moments of his life… and this dream had been no different. He remembered years ago when someone – though he could remember no face – beat him in a dark alley within an inch of his life.

"_What d-did I do…-?"_

_For once, he had gotten an answer… the first and the last before his meeting of Kyuubi. Even Sandaime Hokage never told him and nor did Naruto ask him after the first five times._

"_You were… you."_

_Then they had disappeared, leaving the boy to fall unconscious in the dirt and grim._

From that day on, Uzumaki Naruto was not what he seemed. He turned himself into a joke, a dunce and an idiot of Konoha. He liked to be foolish and play pranks… But at that moment, he stood, silent and unmoving, in front of the mirror and just reminisced… he grinned an I-know-something-that-you-don't grin. What everyone did not know, was that they had fell trap to his greatest prank of all. His lie; his puzzle; his game… his mask.

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	3. Suspicions and Traitors

**Just a reminder: This is a Joint Fic, so don't fret if you come across AFD again and think you're seeing double ;)**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

**

* * *

**

**A Fox's Deception  
_Suspicions and Traitors_**

Naruto sat at his desk, looking really goofy and excited, while at the same time he was secretly jumping for joy. Today was the day of his third Genin exam!

'_Alright! Today's the day Musha said I could pass! I'm going to become Genin for sure!'_

On the outside, Naruto remained foolish, but allowed himself a true smile when no one was looking. He could do this test with one arm behind his back… Well, as soon as Sekimusha taught him how to do one-handed seals and/or no seals at all, but that wasn't the point! He would ace the test, no problem.

"_**Not so fast, Kit–"**_

"_Eh?-!"_ Naruto blinked in surprise as the Bijuu's voice sidled into his conscious mind. _"Musha! Stop butting into my thoughts!"_

"_**Kit, it's Mizuki."**_

The ancient fox demon was right. Mizuki and Iruka had just walked into the room. Naruto looked up at them and, for a split second, saw something akin to hatred flash through Mizuki's eyes – just like always. Naruto just looked as though he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, and instead grinned at the two Chuunin. Mizuki caught himself just in time, or so he thought, and smiled back at the Jinchuuriki.

"Ohayou, Naruto." Mizuki said as he and Iruka passed on the way to the front of the class.

Naruto plastered a _huge_ grin on his face, "Hey, Mizuki-sensei, Iruka-sensei, guess what! Today's the day I'm finally going to pass the Genin Exams!"

Mizuki smiled _'kindly'_ and Iruka managed a twitch of the lips as most of the pupil's laughed at the blonde's outburst.

"We'll see, Naruto, we'll see." Iruka said to the energetic boy, moving to stand at the front of the class, closely followed by Mizuki.

"_**Kit, watch out for Mizuki… He's acting stranger than usual, today."**_

"_Hai, Musha."_

Naruto beamed goofily around the class.

"Alright, listen up!" Iruka addressed the class, "For your final exam, you must create three perfect Bunshin's. Wait in here until your name is called from the next room."

'_Aw, crap. With all my chakra, that's my worst technique! Well, at least I know I can create _one_ Bunshin... Ten's as easy as tricking and pranking ickle Genin's…But three clones are harder…Why does my chakra have to be so big?-! Not that I'm complaining, of course. Oh well, with my training, I'll be sure to get one down! Ha, this test is _mine_.' _

Naruto watched, calm on the inside, as one by one students emerged from behind the door sporting either a new hitai-ate or a downcast expression. One particular time, Uchiha Sasuke walked confidently out of the door, headband in hand to be met with fawning from his battalion of fan girls and a heated glare from Naruto – Sasuke took pleasure in glaring right back with cocky arrogance.

If there was one person Naruto hated, it was the Uchiha. God forbid if he was on the same team as that arrogant bastard. _'That bastard thinks that he's the best because he's an Uchiha. I mean, come on, there are millions of ninjas that are way better than him.'_

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Finally, it was his turn. Walking towards the door, Naruto's grin widened as he thought of Iruka and Mizuki's faces… not to mention the rest of the class's.

As Naruto took up position in front of the teacher's desk, Iruka spoke, "Now, Naruto, all you need is three simple clones to pass the test… Don't try anything stupid."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, remembering his Sexy no jutsu from the previous day, before remembering that his mask was terrible at performing Bunshin no jutsu. His face slipped into a nervous one and he gulped anxiously. Something like hope or glee passed quickly over Mizuki's face… Did he think Naruto wasn't going to be able to do it? Well, not that he blames him. After all, his mask_ is_ the dead last.

A determined look settled upon Naruto's face, mind fixed on proving Mizuki wrong – as, thanks to Musha's training, he knew he could. Closing his eyes in a silent plea –Bunshin no jutsu _was _still his worst technique, despite being more able than everyone thought. He knew that three clones were relatively easy, though. He started to form the first seal.

"_**Kit, fail."**_

Naruto's cerulean eyes flew open. _"Wait, what?-!"_

"_**I want to test a theory. Just fail already."**_

"_Demo–!"_

"_**Just do it, Naruto!"**_

Naruto obviously had a stunned look on his face, as Iruka was frowning at him, "Something wrong, Naruto?"

Blinking a few times, Naruto looked up at his sensei, "Wha–? Oh, right! Here I go!"

Taking the plunge and putting his faith in Sekimusha, Naruto gathered up what he knew was a ridiculous amount of chakra for creating a simple Bunshin. Iruka and Mizuki both exchanged glances that said all too clearly 'He's going to fail.'

"Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto announced. "Behold, three perfect–!"

Naruto cut himself off as he looked across to a clearing plume of smoke, revealing… three dead looking clones lying pathetically on the floor.

"…clones…" Naruto allowed his expression to falter and his hands fall limp at his side. "Eh…Heh…" He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Naruto… you fail!" exclaimed Iruka.

Everyone but Naruto passed… once again. The blonde sat on his favorite swing staring gloomily at the interaction between the happy parents and children. _"Musha, what's that theory you want to prove? I wanted to become a ninja this time, you know!"_

"_**Be patient, kit. I promise that your 'failure' would not be a waste." **_If anyone else had heard Sekimusha say that, they would've thought they were crazy – the Kyuubi was_consoling_ the kid, after all… albeit, in a not very noticeable way._** "Ah," **_the demon lord carried on,_** "Here he comes now."**_

Naruto, too, felt the presence of Mizuki coming his way. He turned around and greeted him gloomily, "Hi, Mizuki-sensei."

The sliver-head smiled, "Naruto, can I talk to you?"

"Okay, Mizuki-sensei…"

Soon enough, he and Mizuki sat side by side, Naruto still in his role of 'sad failure'.

"Iruka is a really serious guy…" Mizuki started, looking across at Naruto. "His parents died when he was young…"

Naruto pretended to look surprised.

"_**Tch, already knew that, seeing as I–"**_

"_Urusai, Kyuubi… I don't want to know how you killed them."_

Sekimusha shifted in his cage, snorting quietly, _**"Your loss, Kit."**_

"_Hardly…"_

All the while, Mizuki kept on speaking, oblivious to the Fox's intervention, "…Everything he's accomplished he did by himself, with a lot of hard work and discipline."

"So…-?" Naruto was confused to where this was going, "What's this got to do with me?"

Mizuki looked sideways at Naruto, smiling slightly at the boy. "So…you remind him of himself."

Naruto's eyes widened at that, properly surprised, _'What?'_

"_**Aw…" **_The fox interjected sarcastically. Naruto ignored him while Kyuubi snickered, the sound echoing around his cage and in the back of Naruto's mind.

"He thinks he's helping you to grow strong… Try to give the guy a break… Can't you understand where he's coming from?"

Naruto's face remained perfectly downcast as he listened to what Sekimusha was telling him to say.

"…One orphan to another…-?"

Naruto looked up; a twinge in his lower gut telling him that he had always been uncomfortable on the subject of him being an orphan. Shaking off the feeling, he proceeded to say what Musha told him to say – The kitsune suspected that he would then be playing right into Mizuki's hands, which is what the demon wanted.

Naruto cast his gaze down to the floor and his face fell once more – the perfect act.

"But… I really wanted to graduate…"

Mizuki thought Naruto failed to notice the triumphant glance he sent the boy's way. "Then, I guess there's no choice but to tell you…" He said, feigning offhandedness.

"Huh?"

Mizuki turned to smile at Naruto. Naruto could tell that Mizuki's smile hid something ominous behind it, but Mizuki thought that Naruto's wide eyes and curious look were genuine. Sekimusha had to hand it to them – Mizuki and Naruto were great actors… But Naruto was better.

"Let me tell you a secret that I've been keeping for a long time…"

'_**Bingo.'**_

------

**Later that Night...**

An orange jumpsuit-wearing thief crept his way towards the Hokage Tower, unnoticed by anyone.

"_**I bet all of my tails that Mizuki has something to do with the fact that you hardly even needed to use stealth to get in."**_

"_No duh, Fox…" _Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes, before voicing a question to the kitsune. _"If he can do this, then why can't he get the scroll himself?"_

'_**For all his brains, he can still be so damn slow…' **_thought Sekimusha.

"_**Hello…-! He plans to put the blame on you, kit. You know… two birds with one stone. If he can get away with it, no one would suspect him and he gets to go free. You, on the other hand, would be put in prison or be executed... It's a wonder why, for all the attempts on your life, you didn't already realize that."**_

Ignoring the fact that Sekimusha was obviously mocking him, Naruto went inside the room that Mizuki had told him about. _'Okay, let's see, the really big scroll marked "The Forbidden Scroll of Seals".'_ Almost as if he had wished it, in the far corner he immediately spotted a really big scroll. _'This got to be it!'_ Just as he picked it up, he noticed a smaller scroll attached to it at the back, probably so that one wouldn't notice it unless they picked up the big scroll. He was about to detach it, when he noticed something strange… it was addressed to him. _'That's weird… Why would it be addressed to me?' _A frown flashed across his face._ 'Hm…I'll read it later.' _Naruto thought as he quickly pocketed it.

Suddenly, he became aware of the presence of Sandaime Hokage outside the door. He braced himself to attack – he couldn't get caught now! The door creaked open and as soon as the Hokage stood in the doorway, Naruto quickly formed a few seals and called out softly, "Oiroke no Jutsu." A cloud of ninja smoke consumed him. When it disappeared, a beautiful, yet very much nude, girl version of himself was revealed. The question on the Hokage's lips disappeared and a wizened hand came up to fruitlessly try and block his nose. It was no good – Sarutobi lost consciousness as the force of his nosebleed made him soar backwards and hit his head on the wall behind him.

Quickly, Naruto made his way out towards a secluded field in the forest with a small cabin. When he got there, he opened the scroll and took a good look at it. Due to his photographic memory, he memorized everything in there, and stored them away in mental files for later. After he was done, the blonde went back to the first jutsu – Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – and started training.

It took a few hours, but now, Naruto has completely mastered the jutsu. He has even found out about the secret of Kage Bunshin's – when a Kage Bunshin is dispelled, everything that it knows, the original will know. Basically, Naruto now has a better way of training. He was about to move on to the next jutsu when he sensed Iruka-sensei, unknowingly being followed by Mizuki, coming towards him.

The Kyuubi's impatient voice sounded in his mind._** "Hurry up, kit. Let's get this show on the road." **_

"_Hai, Musha… Just give me a second."_

Just then, Iruka came into the clearing, "Naruto!" He exclaimed angrily.

Naruto looked at him and grinned foolishly, "Hey, Iruka-sensei, I've learnt a technique from this scroll, so can I pass now?"

"Nani?"

Still grinning, the blonde answered, "Mizuki-sensei, told me that if I can master a jutsu in here, I get to pass the Genin Exams and become a Genin!"

Iruka looked shocked for a moment, doing a very good imitation of a goldfish with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe that Mizuki of all people…-! Suddenly, he sensed as well as saw a barrage of kunai headed straight towards them. Acting out of instincts, Iruka pushed Naruto away and took the deadly blows head on. He grunted in pain, "Nice job finding him. Now, I see what's going on."

A smug voice overhead was heard, "Now, Naruto, hand over the scroll," And Iruka dragged his head up, just for his eyes to widen in shock – It was Mizuki!

"What's going on? Mizuki-sensei? Iruka-sensei?" asked a very 'confused' Naruto as he looked at the two teachers, putting on a slightly scared face.

Mizuki laughed coldly. "Hand over the scroll, Naruto."

Iruka's shocked and worried eyes darted from Naruto's 'scared' face, to Mizuki's triumphant one. "Naruto!" Iruka shouted to the blonde, "Protect that scroll with your life! That is a dangerous scroll that has forbidden ninjutsu sealed within it! Don't let Mizuki have it, he was just using you to get his hands on it!"

Mizuki just chuckled, "Naruto, even if you've read it, it'll still be meaningless… I can show you what it means."

Iruka blanched. "Urusai, you fool!" Mizuki paid no heed, though, and continued to stare down at the 'frightened' Naruto with a look as though he was a cat that just got the canary.

"Naruto…Do you know what _really_ happened the night twelve years ago? …where the great demon Fox, Kyuubi, was _killed_…"

"No! Don't!" panicked Iruka.

"_**Oh, really, I prefer the name 'Sekimusha'… but, still these pitiful humans do flatter me so…"**_

"_Oh, be quiet, Musha…" _Naruto turned his attention back to Mizuki, while still maintaining his 'scared-not-knowing-what-the-hell-is-going-on' look.

"The truth is that it wasn't killed, instead Yondaime died sealing it. Since then, the people in this village have been bound by a decree…"

"_**Wow, I even have a special decree…" **_Musha's prideful voice resounded in Naruto's head, and Naruto had to refrain from actually rolling his eyes at the Kyuubi's antics.

"_Well, technically it's about me… not you, you self-absorbed kitsune… and you already knew about it, because you told me…"_

"_**Shut up and listen to the human, kit…"**_

"_Ha, that's got to have deflated your gigantic thousand-year-old ego a bit…"_

"…"

All the while, Mizuki carried on speaking, completely oblivious to the conversation in Naruto's head, and carried on believing he had the scared little Jinchuuriki under his thumb.

"I… I don't remember hearing about any decree…" Naruto stuttered out, watching Mizuki chuckle while Iruka struggled to unpin himself from the kunai knives as Naruto walked 'obliviously' into Mizuki's greedy and traitorous hands.

"_**Bravo, kit… your performance deserves an award… You keep playing the puppet…"**_

"You wouldn't know, Naruto… Part of the decree was that everyone would know… except _you_."

"…Except me? What are you talking about? What decree?"

Mizuki threw his head back and laughed manically and uncontrollably at Naruto's 'bewildered' expression, "The decree is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact… that you _are _the demon fox!"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto 'warily', trying to look confused at the same time.

Everyone ignored Iruka as he yelled 'Stop' in vain.

"It means that _you_ are the Kyuubi… the demon that killed Iruka's parents and nearly destroyed the whole village! You were sealed up by Yondaime Hokage, the one you admired the most, and you have been lied to by everyone! Didn't you find it strange that everyone hated you, and you didn't know why? Iruka is the same… he actually hates you! Nobody will ever accept you!"

Flashbacks of Sandaime Hokage talking about Naruto appeared in Iruka's head as he watched the scene unfold with panicked eyes.

"That scroll was used to seal you up!" Mizuki cried out with a glint of mania in his eye. Unhooking the weapon from his back, Mizuki threw one of the giant shuriken towards a 'frozen' Naruto.

Just as Naruto was prepared to use Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape, Iruka leapt towards him, now unpinned from the kunai, and took the shuriken with his back. Drops of blood splattered onto the blonde's face and he stared, shocked, at his favorite teacher.

"Why?"

"My…" Iruka's voice hitched as he cried, tears dropping down onto Naruto's stunned face. "…my parents… after they died… nobody complimented or acknowledged me… I would always act like an idiot… to get people's attention… since I wasn't able to get attention by doing well in class… It was better than being nothing… so I kept acting like that… It was so painful… Naruto… You must've been in a lot of pain too. I'm sorry, Naruto… if I had done a better job… you wouldn't have to feel like this."

Without another word, Naruto put on a scared, shell-shocked face and ran. In the back ground, he could hear Mizuki laughing and Iruka's shouts.

"_**Kit, we're going to have to stop him. Don't let him get the scroll."**_

"_I know, Musha… I just have to lure him away from Iruka-sensei… Then I'll make sure he can't ever try and betray the village again…"_

"_**So the 'puppet' turns on its master… He'll get a shock, kit, when he realizes that we've been the ones pulling the strings all along. Then again, that pathetic excuse of a human probably wouldn't even realize it to the very end."**_

"_That was very well said, Musha."_

"_**Why thank you, Kit." **_Naruto could hear Musha's snickers in the back of his head, and allowed himself a small smile.

Suddenly, he felt to presences nearby and he hid behind a big tree trunk about twenty meters away as another 'Naruto' pushed 'Iruka' away.

'Iruka' struggled to get up, as 'Naruto' sat against a tree, and growled. With a puff of ninja smoke, 'Iruka' became a very furious Mizuki, "How did you know that I'm not Iruka?"

'Naruto' grinned smugly, "Because, _I'm_ Iruka." With another puff of ninja smoke, 'Naruto' turned back into Iruka.

"I see…" chucked Mizuki, "You'd even transform into what killed your parents to protect him."

"I won't hand the scroll to an idiot like you!"

"You're the idiot. Naruto and I are the same."

"_**Like hell he is! I can go on just about forever on how you two are different."**_

"_Yeah, what he said!"_

Iruka was shocked, "The same… -?"

He continued, "If you use the skills in that scroll, you can do whatever you want. There's no way that the Kyuubi wouldn't try to use its powers."

Iruka sighed, "Yeah, you're right…"

"_Whoa, wait, what?"_

"…the Kyuubi would do that, but Naruto is different. He is… I've acknowledge him as one of my excellent students. He may not be the hardest worker or the best and he's really clumsy, so no one accepts him. He already knows what it's like to feel pain in your heart. He isn't the demon fox… He's a member of Konohagakure no Sato… He's Uzumaki Naruto!"

"_Iruka-sensei…"_

"_**Wow, who knew that a guy like him could say something so touching?"**_

Mizuki growled and took his second giant shuriken off his back, "Iruka, I said I would take care of you later, but I'm changing my mind. Hurry up and _die_!"

As the shuriken flew forward, Iruka smiled grimly, _'So, this is it…'_

Suddenly, an orange blur came out of nowhere and knock the shuriken off its former path and into the trees.

Naruto growled furiously, "Don't touch Iruka-sensei, you traitor!"

"You idiot! Why did you come out?-! Run!"

Mizuki yelled, "I can kill a punk like you in one shot!"

The blonde placed his hands into a very familiar cross-shaped seal, "Try it, kokuzoku! I'll return the pain a thousand times! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, the whole area was covered with Naruto's.

Mizuki's eyes widened as he stared at the hundreds of shadow clones. He stumbled onto his behind and stammered, "W-What?-! How?-!"

Naruto just smirked. "Well, I thought you said you can like me down in one shot. So, what are you waiting for? Come and get us! If you're not coming… then, we'll come to you!"

A moment later, the clearing echoed with Mizuki's painful screams as fist after fist and foot after foot came raining down upon him, unmercifully. Iruka just sat at the base of the tree, too stunned to do anything but watch the scene unfold, _'Naruto…'_

Naruto turned to him, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, with a bloodied Mizuki at his feet, "Eh..heh… I guess I went too far…"

"_**Bravo, kit… When you get home, you're training."**_

"_Oh great, thanks…"_

"Naruto…" Iruka said, smiling at him. "Come here, I have a present for you." Slightly perplexed, Naruto obeyed and closed his eyes as Iruka told him to. Soon, he felt something being tied across his forehead.

"Sensei, can I…-?"

"Yes, Naruto, open your eyes."

Naruto complied, opening his cerulean eyes to come face to face with Iruka… only, something was missing. Iruka was holding his goggles and his forehead was bare… Naruto's eyes widened and a hand shot up to his own forehead.

"Congratulations, Naruto! You graduate—! Oof!"

Naruto had tackled him to the ground and hugged him, momentarily forgetting about Iruka's wounds.

"Naruto, to celebrate, how about we go for ramen?" _'Now that you're a full fledged shinobi, things will only get more difficult... at least, that's the speech I planned to give… But I'll save it for later, at the restaurant.'_

Naruto smiled up at him. "Sure, Iruka-sensei!"

"_**What did I tell you, kit? I told you to trust me… see, you graduated."**_

"_I guess I did…"_

"_**But, you're still training. Don't think you're off the hook."**_

"_Nani?-! But Musha—!"_

"_**No, buts!"**_

"_Damn Kyuubi…"_

"_**I heard that!"**_

"_You were meant to, baka kitsune!"_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"_Thanks, anyway."_

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto


	4. Beginning of Team Seven

**Here we go! The next chapter!**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts"_

"_**Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"**_

'_**Bijuu thinking'**_

"**Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

* * *

**A Fox's Deception  
**_**Beginning of Team Seven**_

A week later, Naruto's sandaled feet clacked against the stone as he winded down the sunny, mildly populated path, heading to the academy for the Explanatory Meeting. As soon as he walked through the door, Kiba called out, "_Failures_ aren't allowed here, baka!"

Sighing at Kiba's outburst, the blonde just pointed to his hitai-ate, which was tied across his forehead, "See this, Inuzuka? This is _my_ hitai-ate. It means that I passed, _dog breath_."

Kiba looked stunned for a moment as he comprehended the fact that Naruto had actually managed to pass… he was, after all, the 'dunce'. Kiba stuttered an incoherent sound, before choking it back and glaring at the Jinchuuriki as Naruto made his way lithely to his seat.

"Troublesome," came an annoyed mutter from an abruptly awakened Shikamaru as Naruto clipped past him, catching Shikamaru's elbow with the zip of his open jacket. Rubbing his abused elbow, Shikamaru grumbled under his breath as his forehead gently smacked against the table, falling once more into slumber. He didn't bother to confront the dead-last on his miraculous graduation – it would be too much of a bother.

Flopping unceremoniously into his seat, Naruto put his head on his arms and relaxed his limbs, pretending to sleep as he challenged Sekimusha to another round of mental Shougi; he even added in fake snores to boot – he was, in fact, quite good at imitating real snores… though, he didn't know yet if that was a _good_ thing.

Suddenly, with a crash that resounded around the relatively low murmur of the classroom, the door burst open to reveal a pink haired girl alongside a platinum blonde. As the two boisterous fan girls began fighting and bitching over Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto was very tempted to shove a textbook in each of their mouths. When he couldn't take the raucous din anymore, he _'woke'_ with a jolt and exclaimed, "For Kami's sake, shut the banshees up!"

The room fell quiet at his outburst and he rubbed his eyes dramatically, looking around _'blurrily'_ as though to get his bearings – his mind being hazed with _'sleep'_. He had, in actual fact, gotten his ass completely kicked by the thousand year old Kyuubi… the thousand year old Kyuubi that knew how to kick his ass at Shougi.

Blinking a few times, he noticed that every single eye was on him. The two obnoxious girls were glaring, affronted by his venting irritation. "Oh, never mind…" He yawned widely, "My mistake… it was just you girls." He grinned happily, seemingly oblivious to the cracking of knuckles and the glares he was receiving.

In the Hokage's office, the Third and some assembled Jounin were looking into a crystal ball. Sarutobi sighed resignedly and motioned towards its glazed surface, "Naruto is causing trouble… as always." He watched with an acquiescent countenance as the rest of the mini-'drama' unfolded.

Instantly all the fan girls' glares were directed at his 'innocent-looking' face. The pink haired Sakura yelled, shaking her clenched fist at him, "Take that back!"

Ino nodded her platinum blonde head in agreement, "Yeah, kisama, take that back!"

Naruto huffed and retorted in a clipped tone, "My parents were married, thank you very much." Seeming nonchalant, he then dared to ask the dooming question, "What's so good about that Uchiha-teme anyways…-? He's just an ice-cold, stuck up prick of a pretty-boy Barbie with a pole stuck so far up his ass that he can never get it out."

"Don't call Sasuke-kun 'Uchiha-teme'!" came the predicted fan girl screech from every fan girl in the room, "–Or a 'prick of a pretty-boy Barbie'!" They angrily stomped their feet childishly, while shaking their clenched fists in the direction of the blonde.

Naruto just rolled his eyes in annoyance and exasperation. Honestly, he couldn't stand that Uchiha-jerk, _Sasuke-kun – _blergh, just hearing that prat's name made him pissed off. Kami help him if the Sasuke-bastard was on his team.

'Teme…'

He glared over in the Uchiha's direction, barley resisting the urge to bare his teeth in a feral manner.

Just then, Iruka came into the room in holding a clipboard in his hands. His eye twitched a bit at the murderous intent rolling in tsunami waves off the gathered group of fan girls, which was aimed entirely at the bothersome blonde. Sighing, he saw them flex their fingers as they started to circle round the 'unsuspecting' Uzumaki, who sat, painfully ignorant of the girls' plan, at his desk. Iruka was only a tiny bit surprised to note that Naruto was also radiating a subtle amount of killing intent – glaring at Uchiha Sasuke. Then again, he really shouldn't be even a bit surprised, as practically everyone knew that Naruto hated said Uchiha with a roaring passion.

The Uchiha had noticed the Kyuubi's container's glare directed at his person and mentally rolled his eyes at the dunce's antics. With a cock of a slender eyebrow, Sasuke gazed intensely right back, with calm nonchalance breezing over his pale features. Naruto's eye began to twitch at the Uchiha's audacity – Sasuke was acting so uncaring towards Naruto's obvious bitter loathing. Invisible competitive sparks of anger began forming between the two of them.

Iruka sighed and mentally checked that he still had one or two aspirins in his desk drawer. With as small huff, he proceeded to demand the children's attention.

"Settle down, class! Now, get back to your seats! Sasuke, Naruto, would you kindly stop looking _lovingly_ into each other's eyes while I'm trying to take a class!"

"The _hell_?-! Iruka-sensei!" hollered Naruto irately.

At the Umino's last remark, both Sasuke and Naruto had whipped round to the teacher immediately, the former having only a healthy, disapproving scowl on his face, while the latter burst into a yell, with a faint red tinge tinting his tanned and whiskered visage from anger at the false implication.

"Ew, Iruka-sensei! Don't even imply false remarks like that! The stupid Uchiha-teme doesn't even deserve my full attention, let alone anything like _that_!"

"Well, Naruto, it's easy to jump to conclusions if you insist on fixing eyes with Sasuke so often. Stop glaring at him, sit down, quiet down and _stay_ down!" Came the smart reply.

Naruto 'hmphed' and flopped back into his seat, crossing his arms and glowering at Iruka, each and every once in a while shooting a snarling glare at the ice-cold Sasuke, who shot a repulsed scowl right back.

Unbeknownst to all of them, in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi and the Jounin were chuckling quietly at the two boys.

Iruka stepped up to the front of the class, clearing his throat modestly, with a sheaf of paper in his hand.

"Class," He began in an important tone, "From this day you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu, but you are fully-fledged shinobi–"

A few whoops and scattered cheers punctured his speech. He was a bit peeved, seeing as he knew the speech off by heart – having said it quite a few times before. Even though he understood their excitement, once having been in their shoes in the past, he still didn't appreciate being interrupted.

He cleared his throat once more, "Anyway, as I was saying… Amid the ranks of shinobi, however, you are just novices – the lowest of the low. All your challenges still lie ahead. The next step that you will undertake is the assignment of official duties. You will do this on behalf of your village. You will be divided into three-men cells and receive a Jounin instructor as your mentor."

Naruto felt his eyelids dropping – they had all heard most of this information before from one of Iruka's punishment rants… Even then, they had been put to sleep. Sure enough, this time was no different, and Naruto distinctly heard the sharp smack of Shikamaru's head collide with the wooden desk the Nara sat at. Naruto was truly surprised that he had even been awake to start with.

"Shikamaru! Wake up, this is important!"

There was a sleepy groan from the Nara and he lifted his head, shooting a tired, disgruntled glare at their sensei. With a sigh, he rested his head on his hand to refrain from using the desk as a pillow once more.

"Now, moving on…" Iruka began again, eyeing the class with a fierce eye to see who else was on the verge of dreamland. "As I was about to say, these teams have been selected so that each person's individual grades and skills will balance out the cell's overall abilities and every team will be approximately equal…"

As Iruka began to read out the new Genin cells from the sheets of paper, there were a multitude of barely hidden groans from those who had managed to grasp every word their teacher had uttered through their drowsy haze. Naruto felt Sekimusha stir at the back of his mind. Before he could ask the Kyuubi anything, however, Iruka interrupted him.

"Team Seven will consist of Uzumaki Naruto–" Naruto straightened in his seat as he heard his name issue from the Umino's mouth. "Haruno Sakura–"

"Nani?-! I'm teamed with _that_?-!" A banshee-like shriek came from Sakura's seat as she pointed a quivering finger at Naruto. Naruto rolled his eyes and scoffed at her.

'_Great… the frickin' Forehead Banshee…If I happen to get the pair, I'll quit immediately… I swear…'_

"Quiet, Sakura. Team Seven: Naruto, Sakura and–"

Sakura crossed her fingers in her lap. _'No one but Sasuke-kun!'_

Naruto gritted his teeth, eyes fixed on the paper in Iruka's hand._ 'Anyone but Ino…'_

"–Uchiha Sasuke."

"Yatta–!" yelled the pink haired girl as she danced in her seat. The girls groaned in disappointment as they shot heated glares of jealousy towards the cheering girl.

"…or Sasuke-teme. Fuck it!" Naruto swore at his own mask, cutting off Sakura's cheer. '_Stupid cocky bastard… just because I'm 'dumb' I get teamed with him and Pinky…' _In his mind, Naruto heard the sinister, echoing laughter of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"_I'm blaming this on you, Fox!" _he pouted angrily.

"_**Honestly, Kit… you brought the whole 'mask' thing on yourself…"**_

"_But I made sure I had about the same grades as Shikamaru! Why couldn't he be with Pinky and the Bastard instead?-!"_

"_**Well, kit… It's kind of obvious that Yamanaka, Nara and the bloated Akimichi will be put together… their fathers being the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio."**_

"_Oh, urusai, you… you… bastard!"_

Naruto mentally cut off from the conversation as the Kyuubi began to laugh once more, his deep chuckled echoing in his ears, making it hard for him to hear.

"…Team Eight: Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba…"

'_A tracker team…' _Naruto thought automatically. He was vaguely aware of Sasuke's glare on the back of his head as he blocked out Sakura's animated daily Sasuke-obsessing ritual.

"…Ten: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji…"

'_Bastard Musha…' _Naruto slipped back into sulking at his self-bought about misfortunes.

"Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be with _Naruto_ of all people?-!" His name slipped off Sakura's tongue with a bitter note, almost as though every syllable threatened to choke her as she spat it out. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes… lunch break couldn't come fast enough.

During lunch, he sat at his swing outside the academy as usual, eating some rice balls. The swing was considered _his_ because no one else would go near it after he first swung on it. As he finished off one of his rice balls, a sharp sting was suddenly felt from an invisible seal at the back of his right hand.

Naruto blinked in surprise and his eyes shot towards the back of his hand, where –of course– there was nothing there… Nothing there but the seal. He knew immediately what it meant.

'_An intruder is at my home!'_

Quite a few years ago, Sekimusha has taught Naruto how to make some useful seals – this one being one of them. This seal alerts him whenever someone enters the place the seal was at – which, in this case, was Naruto's apartment.

With this seal, Naruto also could tell who went in there. If it was someone whom he had placed chakra samples of in the seal –which was basically anyone he knew and met– the seal on his hand would sting and give him a chakra sample of that person. If it was a stranger, it would just sting.

Forming a familiar cross-shaped seal and into another seal, Naruto whispered, "Henge Kage no Bunshin." With a very small puff of ninja smoke, a small canary with blue eyes appeared on his shoulder. He looked at it, "You know what to do."

With a nod, the canary flew off in the direction of Naruto's apartment. It landed on a tree near the window and spied the intruder. The canary watched, unblinkingly.

The intruder had gravity-defying sliver hair and an onyx black eye. His other eye was covered by a slanted hitai-ate belonging to the Leaves. The lower half of his face was covered by a black mask that only left his one eye seen. Judging by his clothing, he was a Jounin.

The Kage Bunshin instantly recognized him as the infamous Hatake Kakashi from the Bingo books he owned. His name was in almost every copy.

**Name: **Hatake Kakashi

**Registration ID:** 009720

**Age:** 27

**Hidden Village: **Konohagakure no Sato

**Rank: **A-Rank Jounin, Former ANBU captain

**Kekkei Genkai: **Sharingan (Only known non-Uchiha member to possess it)

**Alias: **Copy Ninja no Kakashi, Sharingan no Kakashi

**Trademark Technique: **Raikiri, Chidori

**Trademark Weapon:** White Chakra fang

**Others: **Sole son of the deceased Hatake Sakumo 'Konoha's White Fang', can be recognized on occasion with an Icha Icha Paradise book

It differed slightly in every Bingo book, but that was about what every one of them stated.

'_What is he doing here?'_

Inside the apartment, Kakashi looked around the living room with menial interest, and spotted an open scroll. Filled with curiosity despite himself, he went over to the table and picked it up.

'_Shit!'_

"Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu?" the Jounin muttered to himself, "Now, where did he get this? I'm sure that the academy doesn't teach its students these sorts of jutsu's…" With the scroll still in his hands, the Hatake gazed around the small, neat apartment. There was something quite out of place… Why was the house so tidy, when the kid himself obviously was not?

'_Perhaps there is more to this prankster than meets the eye…' _The Jounin thought, fixing his single eye once more on the scroll in his hands. _'I wonder… is there anything more behind the pranks?' _

As the Jounin continued to mull around the apartment, outside, unknown to the copy ninja, there was a small puff of ninja smoke and the canary turned into Naruto. He walked through the door casually and spotted the Jounin for the 'first time'.

With a great theatrical start, the blonde yelled and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Hey! What are you doing here, teme? This is _my_ home!"

Kakashi smiled lazily at him, "Oh, I was just checking your home, as the Hokage ordered me to do so." Kakashi smiled kindly, his eye upturned, as Bunshin-Naruto surveyed him suspiciously.

"Then why do you have _my_ jutsu scroll in your hands?" He demanded angrily.

Kakashi blinked, realizing for the first time that he, still, indeed had the jutsu scroll clasped lightly in a gloved fist. "Oh, about this…" Kakashi shifted a bit, not being used to being 'caught in the act', so to speak. He managed avoid the accusing question, however, with a simple, "How did _you_ get it?"

Naruto-clone blinked, cautious of the fact that the Jounin knew full well that Academy students didn't learn these types of jutsu (especially ones only used by other higher ranking shinobi or young-prodigies) – such as Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.

"That? Well, I found it lying around at a training ground. Since no one was there, I took it." The clone suddenly adopted a very childish and exasperated look. "I've been trying to do it for months now!" lied the Kage bunshin, "All, I've managed to do is getting stuck underground!"

Kakashi's one visible eye was narrowed in slight suspicion, "I see…"

Suddenly, Bunshin-Naruto looked at him and adopted a wide, toothy grin, "You're a Jounin, right?"

Said Jounin nodded warily, "Right…" His ninja senses were tingling suspiciously at the bouncy boy.

"Then can you teach me how to do it? Please!" Naruto had even put on the most basic form of his puppy-dog eyes that, he was proud to say, quite a few can't resist. He didn't put on his better puppy-eyes though, because, truthfully, he had mastered the jutsu in Kakashi's hand years ago.

Being an ex-ANBU captain, Kakashi wasn't even fazed by it. He looked at the teen calmly, "Maybe if I have time."

The blonde's grin grew even wider as he jumped up and down in excitement. Since Naruto was distracted, the Jounin disappeared with a twirl of smoke and leaves without the teen's notice… or so he thought. Once Kakashi was out of the range of a twenty meter radius of him, Kage-Naruto calmed down and dispelled itself with a puff of smoke.

Back at the academy, all the knowledge of the Kage Bunshin was instantly transferred to the original Naruto, who was waiting for the Jounin instructor with the other members of Team 7. _'So, by the way he was looking around my apartment, he's our Jounin instructor. Hm… this can be both a blessing and a curse. He would focus mainly on Sasuke-teme as everyone else does and leave the two of us behind. While I can train myself without his knowledge easily because of that fact, the pink banshee can't. She'll be our weak link. What should I do?'_

He looked around the room as he 'woke up from his sleep'. Sasuke was still brooding and Sakura was staring at said Uchiha as she always did drooling a bit at the mouth. Naruto clicked his tongue quietly, disgruntled by the unfavorable sight of saliva trickling down and messing amongst her dark pink kunoichi clothes.

Sakura, glancing over, noticed that he was 'awake', "Naruto-baka! Why the hell did you fall asleep for?-!" she exclaimed in her complaining voice.

"Sa-ku-ra!" Naruto mimicked her whiney voice making the girl scowl. "If you didn't want me falling asleep, why didn't you just wake me up? Perhaps you were to busy drooling over your 'Sasuke-kun'… And, by the way, you _are_ literally drooling." He finished in a monotone matter-of-factly voice.

Sakura gasped and hastily wiped her mouth, blushing furiously as she glanced over at Sasuke. The Uchiha was pointedly ignoring his two new assigned team mates.

'_Humph, probably thinking about his brother...' _Naruto mused._ 'I wonder what would happen if he ever find out about the Uchiha clan's cursed blood…' _A slight frown appeared between blonde furrowed eyebrows._ 'I think…that was the reason Itachi-nii killed his clan.'_

Despite the alleged rumor –that was mostly true– that Itachi had murdered his clan, except for his little brother, the blonde remembered the older Uchiha fondly. Naruto remembered him without scorn or hate, for Itachi had saved Naruto from assassination attempts several times and had been kind to him of his –Itachi's– own accord. Naruto had once asked the young ANBU captain why he had saved Naruto. Itachi's answer was simply that the villagers were blind fools who couldn't see beyond their own pain.

"Sakura?"

The girl turned with an angry air towards the blonde 'dunce'. "Nande?" She practically snarled, her banshee-growl putting even the Kyuubi to shame.

Naruto just looked nonchalantly at her, "The supply closet is down that way," He pointed out the door. "I'm sure you'll be able to find a porous-enough mop for that drool."

Before Sakura could even _try_ to kill Naruto, a familiar chakra essence announced itself to Naruto, via Shunshin no Jutsu. The door opened to reveal the Jounin that was at Naruto's apartment about two hours ago – one Hatake Kakashi. With a soft thump, a chalkboard eraser, which Naruto set up about two and a half hours ago, dropped onto his slivery hair emitting a small puff of white chalk dust.

Kakashi blinked in slight surprise. Naruto grinned dumbly, pointing at him as he laughed. Sakura panicked a little and hastily apologized to their new master, "Gomen, sensei, I told Naruto to _not_ do it, but he wouldn't listen and… and…"

She trailed off sheepishly, embarrassed by Naruto's childish behavior. However, what goes on inside her mind was a completely different story. Inner Sakura was giving Naruto two thumps up, _**SHANNARO!**_

Kakashi looked at them lazily before smiling at the three of them, "My first impression of you is… I hate you." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all sweatdropped as Kakashi deadpanned in the absence of a reply. Basking in their silence, the Jounin continued, "Meet me on the roof." With a twirl of leaves, he disappeared.

Naruto trudged his way up the stairs, Sasuke and Sakura lagging in behind. As they appeared onto the roof, its structure awash with sunlight, they saw their new sensei, Kakashi, waiting for them patiently on the railings with an orange book in his hand. Naruto eyed it warily, noting that it must be the famed Icha Icha volume the Bingo Books broadcasted about.

'_Ero-sensei.'_

Kakashi let out a small girl-like giggle as he motioned for them to sit upon the steps in front of him. He didn't glance up from his novel. They waited patiently for a few minutes as the Hatake let out another perverse chuckle, turning a page in the book.

"Oi!" Naruto exploded, seemingly impatient, "Are you going to take your nose out from that book or not?-!" Sakura aimed a slap upside the excitable boys head and Naruto, although he clearly anticipated its coming, decided to let the hit land, and so maintaining his idiotic appearance in front of present company.

Kakashi looked up and smiled lazily, "Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked, blinking confusingly. "What should we say?"

'_Is she stupid or what?' _Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi, they had all thought the exact same thing.

Kakashi shrugged, "Well… let's see…What you like, hate, your dreams and hobbies… something like that." He looked back at Sakura, who seemed a bit slow on the uptake. He mentally sighed. "I'll start off. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream…" He paused for the longest moment. "I have a few hobbies."

Sakura sweatdropped,_ 'So all we found out was his name.'_

"Now it's your turn." Kakashi looked at Naruto, "Blondie's first."

Naruto grinned foolishly, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant Ramen! What I like even more is the Ichiraku Ramen that Iruka-sensei buys me! What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the ramen to cook!"

Kakashi gazed apathetically at the boy._ 'Does he think of anything but ramen? …Maybe he really wasn't as smart as I first thought.'_

Naruto grinned again, adjusting the hitai ate on his forehead. "My dream is to have everyone in this village to acknowledge me, surpass the pervious Hokage and become one myself!"

'_Well…' Kakashi blinked slowly. 'He has grown up in an… interesting way.'_

"My hobbies are… pranks, I guess."

Kakashi nodded as Naruto finished, turning to the only girl. "Pinky, you next."

Sakura glared at him, before smiling sweetly, "I'm Haruno Sakura! I like…well, the person I like is…" She blushed and looked at Sasuke, who promptly ignored her. "And my hobby is…" She glanced at Sasuke once again. "Well, my dream is to…" She looked at the Uchiha once more and almost squealed. Suddenly, she snapped up straight. "I hate Naruto! …and Ino-pig!" She added, as an after thought.

Naruto and Kyuubi sneered, _'Typical fan girl.'_

Kakashi sighed, _'Girls at her age must be more interested in love than ninja training.'_

"Now, the brooding one."

Not bothering to be offended, Sasuke answered monotonously, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I hate and there aren't a lot of things that I like." Sakura shifted a bit and looked downcast. Sasuke ignored her. "Also, I have an ambition that I have no intentions to leave as just a dream – the revival of my clan, and to… kill a certain man."

There was a short silence, where everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

Sakura looked at the avenger with hearts in her eyes,_ 'Sasuke-kun is soooooooo cool!'_

Kakashi frowned slightly,_ 'Just as I thought…'_

'_Like hell, you can kill Itachi-nii! I won't let you!'_

"Ne, ne, sensei, what are we going to do first?-!"

The Hatake smiled at Naruto's hyperactivity, "First, we are going to do something with just the four of us……Survival training."

Sakura protested, "We did enough training in the academy." Sasuke secretly agreed with her, while the blonde just grinned – thanks to Musha, he knew just what the survival training was truly for.

Kakashi continued, "I will be your opponent, but this isn't normal training…" The others had questioning looks on their face as Kakashi began to chuckle once more.

"Sensei? Is something funny…-?" Sakura ventured, her pink eyebrows knitting together.

'_He saw your face…'_

"_**Be nice, Kit…"**_

"_Dammit! Out of my head, Musha!" _He could hear the Kyuubi's echoing chuckle. Kakashi suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"No… Well… It's just that… When I tell you this, you guys are definitely going to flip." All three pairs of eyes were on him. He smiled once more. "This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66. Of the 27 graduates, only 9 at maximum will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to Academy."

There was a shocked silence. Kakashi looked at his team to see there reactions. Sasuke had a surprised look on his face, while Naruto and Sakura's faces were covered in shadows.

Sakura injected, spluttering, "Then what's the point of the Genin exams?"

The Jounin looked at her and shrugged indifferently, "Oh, that? That's just to select those that have the chance to become Genin."

"Nani?-!" Two of the three kids cried – Sasuke just 'Hn'ed.

"See? You're flipping already!" He continued, "Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your Shinobi tools." He stood up from the railings. "…Oh, and don't eat breakfast, or else you'll throw up." Then he disappeared in a swirl of leaves and wind.

Naruto huffed mentally, _'Why the hell should I listen to you?'_

"_**That's the spirit, kit!"**_

The three probational-Genin sat there for a minute. Inner Sakura was yelling in Sakura's head,_** This must be a test of love! I can't get sent back to the Academy without my precious Sasuke-kun! True love WILL prevail! Cha!**_

Naruto detected a minor change in Sakura's chakra and noticed the determined look on her face as she glanced over at the already retreating Sasuke.

'_Well… She doesn't seem too anxious about it… This may be interesting…'_

"_**Damn right, Kit, now let's go, you've got training to do."**_

"_Dammit! Musha! What did I say about listening in on my thoughts?-!"_

"_**Hmm? Sorry, Kit, you say something?"**_

"_Damn you, Kitsune-teme!"_

Kyuubi was laughing the rest of the way home.

------

**The Next Day…**

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto each frowned as they waited for their sensei. Sakura frowned, for their sensei was late by at least two hours – that, and soon, if she didn't move about, the sun would begin to fade her hair. Naruto frowned, for the annoying pervert of a Jounin was late for their 'training'. Sasuke frowned, for he was Sasuke.

Finally, after another hour of waiting, where Sakura reprimanded Naruto and Naruto fought the building urge to hang her upside-down from a tree, and where Sasuke just brooded in the shade, their sensei finally showed up.

"Yo."

"You're late!" yelled Sakura and Naruto… _loudly_.

Kakashi just chuckled. "Sorry I'm late, but I woke up just an hour ago, and found that I had finished my book. I had to rush out immediately to buy the next volume!"

"Liar!" Sakura yelled. Naruto, however, didn't join in, as he suspected that the Jounin was probably telling the truth… mostly.

"Now," Kakashi said cheerily, placing a clock on the stump next to him. "I've set this alarm to go off at noon." He slowly drew his hand out of his pocket, a small tinkling sound becoming apparent. Two bells were clasped in his fingers. "Here, I have two small bells…" He looked around at the slightly confused faces. "Your task is to get them off me before the timer sounds. Whoever doesn't manage to get a bell, will be tied to the post while the others eat lunch in front of him."

'_No wonder he told us to not eat. Good thing that I didn't listen to him.' _Naruto mentally grinned. He, Sasuke and Sakura all just gazed at Kakashi as his voice became serious.

"Come at me with the intent to kill, or you will _never_ get a bell."

All of a sudden, Naruto started to laugh. "You couldn't even dodge an eraser! You'll be killed!"

'_If I come at him with the intent to kill, I __**mean**__ to kill to him.'_

Instead of frowning, like Sasuke and Sakura thought he would, Kakashi smiled at Naruto.

"You know, Naruto, only the weak speak loudly…" Naruto pouted and glared.

'_Ero-sensei…'_

Suddenly, without a warning cry, Naruto rushed towards him with a kunai in hand, ready to stab the unsuspecting Jounin. In a blink of the eye, said Jounin had the kunai pointed at the back of the blonde's neck, "Maa… Maa… I didn't say start yet… although, you _did_ come at me with the intent to kill… It seems you've begun to respect me. I think…" Sasuke and Sakura looked up at him while Naruto just glared. "I'm starting to like you guys…"

'_Fast…He's fast…' _Naruto eyed Kakashi warily over his shoulder._ 'But… not as fast as I thought an ex-ANBU captain would be.'_

Unexpectedly, Kakashi let the Genin go and barked out, "Start!" Immediately, the Genin all jumped away.

'_Good,' _Kakashi observed_, 'They all know stealth.'_

Naruto hid in the tree branches nearby, watching Kakashi suspiciously. With a sudden brainwave – courtesy of the Kyuubi – Naruto formed a familiar hand sign…

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…"

------

Kakashi stood alone in the middle of the training ground. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence standing behind him. Turning, he came face to face with—

"Naruto…"

"C'mon sensei! Just you and me, let's go!"

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura – from their respective hiding places – all sweatdropped. Naruto, from within the tree leaves, was embarrassed at his own clone's sheer brashness and foolish acting.

'_Did I really look that stupid all the time…-?'_

"_**You better believe it, Kit…"**_Musha began to chuckle sinisterly again, the laughter echoing in Naruto's ears.

Silently, Naruto groaned.

'_Kami, save me…'_

Sighing, Kakashi slowly reached for his weapons pouch.

"Let me teach you… your first shinobi skill…"

Bunshin-Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion, while the real Naruto just heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Taijutsu." Kakashi announced. "The Art…"

'—_Of the Trained Body… blah, blah, blah… get on with it, Ero-sensei… If I wanted a Taijutsu-theory lesson, I would've gone to that Maito Gai freak…'_

"_**Yosh, Kit…-!" **_Musha's voice rang in his head. In the branches, Naruto froze, a look of pure horror crossing his face.

"_Oh Kami, Musha, Gai got you too! Noooo! I don't wanna contain a green-spandex-wearing, nine tailed Kyuubi! No, no, no! No-no-no-no-n—"_

"…_**I was…joking, Kit…" **_Sekimusha sweatdropped in his cage as he too shivered from the thought.

Naruto immediately stopped screaming in his mind._ "Oh…Heh, never mind…"_ Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly as he watched his clone charge at Kakashi, cutting the Jounin off.

Naruto-Bunshin threw a punch, but Kakashi just sidestepped it, his hand still in his weapons pouch. Glowering up at the Jounin, 'Naruto' leapt back. Kakashi tilted his head a bit, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"Compared to the others… you're a bit weird…"

"Ha, yeah right, sensei! The only thing weird here is your haircut!"

Sighing, Kakashi withdrew his hand from his pouch. The clone froze, expecting a weapon. Instead, he saw–

"Icha Icha Paradise…" The boy spat out its name and glared at it, disgusted, as if it was his archenemy wearing green spandex and had just sprouted a purple and green version of Kakashi's wild hair… The Hatake noticed the look and chuckled, turning a page and giggling purposely, just to piss Naruto off more.

With a growl, Kage-Naruto charged, pulling back a fist to slug Kakashi in the face. Unconcerned, Kakashi blocked the fist as 'Naruto' brought rough his knee, to connect with Kakashi's face. Kakashi just ducked, letting out a girlish giggle as he turned another page.

"Ero-kisama!" The clone cried, hefting his fist once more. From the shadows, the real Naruto seethed at the sight of the book, disregarding the fact that the clone was making him look like a complete fool. Suddenly, Naruto spied a bush below him… it was covered in red berries.

Slowly, Naruto grinned, like a fox who had just found its prey.

Meanwhile, the Bunshin-Naruto was not fairing well. Just as his fist was amount to make contact with his sensei's face, said sensei suddenly wasn't there.

"Huh?-!"

"Yo, Naruto, too slow."

With a sudden foreboding feeling, the clone turned around to see Kakashi crouching behind him, forming a tora sign. The clone's eyes widened.

"Don't let your enemies _ever_ get behind you…"

"Kuso!"

Sasuke and Sakura both watched from the bushes as 'Naruto' tried to bolt.

'_Hn, dunce…'_

'_He'll be killed–!'_

Suddenly, Kakashi lurched forward, an evil glint in his eye. "Too late, Naruto—"

"Hell no!" In the blink of an eye, 'Naruto' leapt away from Kakashi's outstretched form. The Hatake came up short, blinking in surprise. "No one, and I mean _no one_, probes _my _ass!"

In the bushes, Sakura blinked. "Huh?"

'_The kid's fast…' _The Hatake's eyes narrowed a bit, before he chuckled. In the trees, Naruto formed a hand sign. The clone glared at Kakashi. The Copy-nin stood up and brushed himself off, facing 'Naruto'.

"So…" The Hatake chuckled. "You've come across 'One Thousand Years of Death' before, ne?"

_A young girl laughing as she pulled a six year old Naruto to his feet. Naruto was rubbing his ass, wincing in pain. A disgruntled blush was across his cheeks. The girl just proceeded to laugh even harder…_

"…Once or twice…" The clone huffed, sniffing in disgruntlement. Without warning, the clone charged at the amused Jounin again. Sighing, Kakashi was about to flick open his book again, when a large splash from the river behind him drew his attention, causing him to whip around.

"Wha—?-!"

Distracted by the sight of a dozen clones launching out of the water, Kakashi failed to notice the 'real' Naruto until he grabbed him from behind… 'Naruto' grinned. From the place where he had slipped out to join his clones, a mirroring grin spread across the _real_ Naruto's face.

"Like you said, sensei, never let your enemies get behind you… No matter how weak I seem!"

'_Practice what you preach… Kakashi_.' As the clones were still flying through the air, the real Naruto quickly used Kawarimi to replace himself with the clone on Kakashi's back without Kakashi noticing the exchange. Leaping off Kakashi unexpectedly, he landed and skidded backwards a bit, before pushing off from the ground and aiming a punch at Kakashi's side.

The Hatake side stepped easily, Naruto's fist missing his side by inches. The bells jingled as Kakashi's hip twisted away. Naruto smirked as his momentum still carried him forwards. All the other clones suddenly charged towards Kakashi as they landed on the ground. Using a Kawarimi, Kakashi replaced himself with Naruto noticing… so he thought.

Noticing that Kakashi had suddenly disappeared from their midst, all the clones puffed away as Naruto crossed his arms and pouted in the middle of the training ground.

"Dammit! Sensei, that's no fair!"

His voice rang through the trees, and all he received in answer was a perverted giggle, echoing about the area. Naruto swore.

Suddenly, Naruto spied a bell lying forgotten on the floor. He mentally sighed, knowing it was a ploy, but bounded happily up to it anyway – he was a 'dunce' after all…

"Gah!" A rope snapped around his angle and suddenly, he was hanging upside down from a tree. An image of Sakura flashed across his mind.

'_Dammit! Why couldn't it be _her_ hanging from a tree, like I wanted?-!'_

He could hear the Kyuubi's howl of laughter.

"**Irony is a fickle friend, Kit…" **

Naruto growled as Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of him – upside-down from Naruto's view, of course. He held the bell in his hand.

'_Musha, it's no friend at all…'_

Naruto glared as the blood rushed to his head and Kakashi smiled good-naturedly.

"You used your Kage-Bunshin Jutsu well, Naruto… But not well enough." Kakashi said, making the bell dance in front of his whiskered face. "A ninja must learn to read underneath the underneath…" Suddenly, Kakashi chuckled. "Nice trick, Naruto…" He made the bell jerk once more when, suddenly, he was struck by a multitude of weapons, poof-ing away into a log.

"Tch, overkill, Sasuke!"

But Sasuke was already gone, with Sakura in tow. There were a few heartbeats in which Naruto felt for their presences, but found none nearby. Slowly, his face split into a grin and he poof-ed away, revealing that he, too, had been a clone. The rope hung in a limp noose as the _real,_ real Naruto stepped out from behind the tree.

He stood in the middle of the training ground, alone, and slowly opened his fist, to reveal two, small bells that glinted in the sunlight. That's when it struck him – as they sung in front of his face, Kakashi's bells hadn't chimed.

'_Nice trick, Naruto…'_

Kakashi knew.

Underneath the underneath…

…

…

Naruto grin widened even more, his eyes twinkling with a light of laughter.

Naruto quietly sat down near what he knew to be the Memorial stone, pondering whether to just eat the food that lay in front of him. Minutes passed by, and he suddenly heard Sakura's scream hit the air. Naruto just snorted, wondering what Kakashi had done to the girl – maybe _she _was now hanging upside down in a tree. Naruto didn't dare get his hopes up. Behind the trees, relatively nearby, Naruto soon heard the yell of a certain Uchiha, along with the crackle of a fireball. Then, all fell quiet.

Amid the silence, the alarm rang indicating the end of the test. Tied to the post was none other than……

Haruno Sakura!

The pink haired banshee cried out angrily in indignation, "Why am I the one tied to the post?-! Naruto-baka should be the one here instead of me!" _**Shannaro!**_

"Well…" started Kakashi, "Out of the three of you, you did the least. You didn't even bother to try to take a bell. Besides, Naruto, here, got them both."

Kakashi said it simply, but Sakura immediately fell quiet and turned to the blonde boy with a stunned look. Sasuke just scoffed, "Like hell the dobe can do that. I can still see the bells on your belt."

As if on cue, the bells on the Jounin's belt disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving two red berries in their place. Said blonde took the two _real _sliver bells out of his pocket and jingled them, the sound reverberating through the air. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "How did you know that I took that bells, Kaka-sensei?"

The Jounin smiled lazily, "I noticed it when I completed the Kawarimi. My suspicions were confirmed when I jingled them in front of your face when you got trapped." Naruto pulled a sulky face at the thought of hanging upside-down from the tree. Kakashi smiled in amusement at the face the blonde wore. "Next time, don't fall for such an easy trap, Naruto! So, how did you come up with that switch you pulled?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly once again, "Oh, that? It was just a better version of a prank I did to a shop owner a few years back. Last time, I had to find other keys to replace it with, but this time all I needed was a simple henge on the berries from that bush over there." Naruto pointed in the general direction of said bush as he finished explaining, grinning in satisfaction.

The Jounin smiled and looked at all of them, "Now, Naruto here is the dead last and, yet, he has gotten_ both_ bells without my knowledge. You two, Sasuke, Sakura, are the Top Rookie and Top Kunoichi, are you not? Now, if Naruto managed to get the bells and you didn't, what does that make you?"

'_It makes them complete idiots… But, then, who around me isn't?' _

"_**I agree, Kit…" Musha knew he was referring to the fact that no one could see through his 'dunce' act. " And, besides, to them, we've made it seem like fluke, because we've done this before."**_

"_Ahem, __we__?"_

"_**Fine, just **__**you**__**, Kit." **_The mock sarcasm was clear in his growling voice._**"Besides, it's not like they've seen your **__**real**__** power."**_

"_Not that I want them to."_

"_**For now…"**_

"…_Hai, for now…"_

At Kakashi's words, Sasuke clenched his fist so tightly that it drew some blood. He glared angrily at Naruto while Sakura just hung her head in embarrassment.

Naruto was 'taken back' by the glare and put his hands out in front of him as a sign defense, "Hey! It's not my fault I did it and you can't, Sasuke-teme! I just used one of my old pranks."

Before the Uchiha can retort back, Kakashi interrupted them, "Maa… Maa… we have to get back to the topic here. Now, Naruto, you have both bells in your hands, so who are you going to give the other bell to?"

Eyes widening a bit at the choice he was allowed to make, the blonde first looked at the bells, then at the other two before turning back to Kakashi, "Both of them." He proceeded to throw the bells at Sasuke and Sakura without hesitation.

"And, why's that?" the Jounin asked with amusement laced in his voice.

"Well," Naruto explained. "For one, Sasuke-teme over there doesn't want to work with anyone anyways, so why be a teammate of an unwilling one?" Naruto shrugged, "Two, Sakura doesn't want to work with anyone but her _precious_ Sasuke_-kun_. Since both don't want to be my teammate, what's the point of keeping a bell?" Naruto stood up and dusted himself down. "I can wait for next year. I bet Jiji would allow me to some of the similar missions by myself." Then he proceeded to walk away from the stunned group, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Kakashi smiled at him approvingly, "There's no need to wait for a year, Naruto." Then he turned to the other two. They looked up at him, eyes wide. "You pass." He said simply, gesturing to the Jinchuuriki. "And it's all because of Naruto. The answer to the test was teamwork." Seeing the looks on their faces, he explained, "If he didn't give you the bells and sacrificed himself, I wouldn't have passed you."

"So, we _all_ pass?" Naruto confirmed.

Kakashi smiled down at him, "Hai. You pass, Team Seven."

As his words sunk in, Sakura suddenly let out a cheer and Sasuke's visage settled into a smirk. Naruto just grinned cheekily and laughed. Kakashi's eye upturned, showing that he was smiling at them all. Opening his eye, he then held each of them in a serious, yet kind, gaze.

As two of the three –now official– Genin laughed at their success, Kakashi's gaze drifted the to memorial stone in the corner of his eye. "Remember, those who break the rules are called trash," Kakashi spoke to the joyful kids. "But those who abandon their friends are worse then trash!"

'_Isn't that right…Obito?'_

Amidst the joyful cheers of the new Genin, the small Memorial was silent, holding no answers. But still, Kakashi smiled.

…There was laughter on the wind.

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	5. Swallowed By The Mist

**On with the show!**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts"_

"_**Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"**_

'_**Bijuu thinking'**_

"**Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

**

* * *

**

A Fox's Deception:  
_**Swallowed By The Mist**_

A black shadow leaped through the tall trees of the forest in such a hurry that it was nothing more than a blur to the untrained ninja eye. A few seconds later, four flashes of movement darted through the trees, tracing the same trail as the shadow.

For a few, brief seconds, static echoed over the silent woods…"What is the distance from the target?" A male voice sounded out, breaking the silence.

"Five meters, I'm ready anytime," came the reply in the form of a girl's voice.

"Hn, so am I," added an adolescent male's voice coolly.

There was a pause, amplified by the static. After a few seconds, a loud voice came through, "I'm here!"

"You're late!" scolded the female, her voice making the mike screech.

Suddenly, the first man's voice ripped through the earphone, cutting of a snapped reply that was sure to come from the hyper boy. "Go!" The voice ordered.

Three blurs burst out of their hiding places at the same time and leapt towards the small silhouette.

"Nyaa!"

"Gotcha!" A loud cry hit the air, courtesy of Naruto as he gripped the cat tightly. The cat yowled and spit, thrashing wildly. "Itaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" She scratched me!"

"_Stupid cat"_

"_**I quite agree. It puts a shame to all animals, Bijuu lords or no…"**_

Kakashi's voice sounded from their miniature radios, "Confirm the ribbon on the left ear… Are you sure this is the target, Tora?"

Sasuke grunted, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Good… Lost Pet 'Tora' Search Mission… complete…"

A few minutes later found Team 7 at the mission office, cat in arms, getting ready to report their successful mission.

"_Tora-chan_!" There came a screech as a really fat woman, who turned out to be the feudal lord's wife, hurried to them and scoped the cat from Naruto, into her arms, proceeding to nearly hug it to death, "Oh, my kawaii little Tora-chan! I was so worried!"

Naruto smirked inwardly as he watched dear little 'Tora_-chan_' struggle in her mistress' arms, _"Serves her right for running away! Though, I can't really blame her…."_

"_**I agree, kit. If I was that cat, I would be out of Fire Country by now."**_

"_Luckily, you aren't."_

"_**Most defiantly."**_

Thankfully for cat, the Hokage chose this moment to interfere, "Now Team 7, what shall your next duty be…-? Let's see…babysitting an elder's grandson, potato digging, shopping in the neighboring village…"

"Nyaa!"

"Tora-chan!"

"… and search for lost pet, Tora." The Feudal Lord's wife ran out after her cat in Tora's bid for freedom.

"_No way!"_

"_**Haha, Kit…"**_

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, "We've searched for that cat at least ten times this week and I don't want to do any more of those chores! Even a simple villager could do those. I want a better mission!"

Even though they didn't show it, Sasuke and Sakura silently agreed with the blonde. Though, probably the only reason the latter agreed was because she wanted to be the 'damsel-in-distress' for her Sasuke-kun.

Kakashi sighed,_ 'I thought it was about time they started wanting higher missions…'_

"You idiot! You are just a Rookie!" scolded Iruka, who was in charge of giving out missions with Sandaime Hokage that week, "Everyone starts with the simpler missions and works their way up…" Naruto just proceeded to tune him out as he then ventured to explain about the different ranks of missions and which rank of ninjas gets to do them.

When the Chuunin was finished with his lecture, he found that Naruto was already half asleep, Kakashi was reading Icha Icha Paradise and the other two wasn't even listening, "Hey!"

Kakashi looked up guiltily from his book while Sakura and Sasuke blinked. Naruto yelped and fell sideways with a thud, before sitting up groggily on the floor. There was a second of silence, when, suddenly, mischievousness sparked within the blonde's blue eyes, "Hey, Jiji," He announced. "Why don't let's put on a wager. If I can get first blood from you in one attack, you'll give us a C-Rank mission."

The others raised an eyebrow at that. It was oblivious in their minds that Naruto would lose the bet. I mean, how can a Genin draw the first blood of the Hokage with one technique?

Sandaime smiled, feeling confident in himself, "Fine, I agree." He was Hokage, what could possible overcome him?

Naruto suddenly grew a smirk that put Sasuke to shame, much to the Uchiha's hidden chagrin. "…I'm sure Haremu no Jutsu would be able to draw out a pint or two…" grinned the blonde as he placed his hands in a familiar seal.

The Hokage paled considerably. He knew what Haremu no Jutsu was, alright, and he wasn't willing to embarrass himself like that in front of everyone. "No, that's okay, Naruto…" The Hokage spoke, surprising everyone in the room. "You win! You can have your C-Rank mission now."

Everyone else in the room blinked, dumbfounded, wondering about the great Haremu no Jutsu that can make Sandaime so afraid… Naruto grinned all the wider.

"Arigatou, Jiji!"

Sasuke and Sakura straightened at the new of a C-rank, while Kakashi giggled at his book. Naruto shot said book a death glare before his attention was turned to the door.

"So, who is it? A feudal lord, a princess?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"_Yeah, right, like hell, he's going to give us someone like that to protect."_

"_**Damn right, Kit, I wouldn't trust you lot with my life."**_

"_Err, Musha… Your life is kinda trusted with me, _remember_…-?"_

"_**Yeah, well… It was a figure of speech, Kit!"**_

Sandaime smiled at Naruto's excited outburst, _'Well, Tazuna-san is defiantly no lord or princess.'_

"You may enter, now, Tazuna-san."

Team 7 turned around as the door slid open, revealing an old man in the doorway, swaying slightly with a bottle of sake in hand. Shakily, he took a large gulp of the pungent alcohol, before advancing into the room.

"_You're _meant to protect me?" Tazuna scoffed, taking another swig out of his rapidly draining bottle. "Why, you're just a bunch of brats!" Naruto and Sakura glared at him murderously, while Sasuke looked uninterested. Kakashi just chuckled in amusement. Tazuna surveyed them over his glasses with a disapproving look, "Especially the short little punk with the stupid-looking face."

Naruto blinked at that. "Who's the short punk with the stupid face…-?" He looked left at Sasuke, then right at Sakura. "They aren't short…" Everyone in the room sweatdropped at the bemused look on Naruto's face.

"_**Err, Kit…"**_

The bemused look slowly faded, like rain dripping down a window pane.

"_Matte… Short?"_

"Short? Well, I'm going to be taller than you one day. So, there!" The blonde stuck out his tongue childishly, "But, as for 'stupid looking'…" he paused a little before continuing with his fist up in rage. There was a smoldering fire burning in his eyes that would've made Gai cry at his 'youthful spirit'. "I'm going to kill you for that!" Cocking his fist back farther, Naruto made to charge at the slightly drunken man. "I'll show you who's stupid-looking!" Subconsciously, he began leaking out a small amount of killing intent.

Kakashi had to grab Naruto by the back of his orange jacket, clamping a hand over his mouth, before he could do anything rash, "Ano sa, Naruto, you can't go killing the people you're supposed to protect!"

The Kyuubi was laughing in his cage as Naruto scowled.

Tazuna glanced around at them again with disdain, "I am the expert bridge-builder, Tazuna. I will require your protection until I can get back to Wave country and complete my bridge. Once my bridge is completed, your mission is over." Tazuna turned his back to them indifferently, walking out the door. "Let's see if you brats don't get us all killed."

Naruto let out a feral little growl, yanking his collar from his sensei's grasp. _"I he didn't want any 'little punks' then why didn't he just ask for a higher ranked mission…-?"_

"_**Kit, keep an eye open why don't you. Something's not right…"**_

"_I'll keep two eyes open, Musha. Believe it!"_

"_**Kit…" **_The Kyuubi's voice grew deeper, becoming more sinister as he spoke through clenched fangs_**. "What have I told you about uttering that annoying phrase in my presence…-?" **_The ensnared demon Bijuu let the threat hang in the sounded as though Sekimusha was having trouble keeping his calm…-ish voice level.

"_Eh heh..." _Naruto silently sweatdropped. _"Gomen, Musha…"_

Team 7 stood at the gates to the village.

"Gah! Hurry up, and let's go already!" Naruto stood, arms crossed, huffing as Kakashi checked through their stuff one last time.

"Impatient brat, aren't you kid." Tazuna grunted amusedly. Out of the corner of his mouth, he said to Kakashi, "Am I really going to be safe with this short little dunce?"

Naruto's hearing – thanks to the Kitsune – picked up on what the bridge-builder said and scowled, rounding on him.

"Who are you calling a dunce?-! And short?-! There are lots of people shorter than me!"

"_**Konohamaru doesn't count, Kit."**_

Naruto snarled like a beast, much to Kakashi's concern, and tried to lunge for Tazuna, but Sasuke tripped him on purpose, succeeding in making the blonde fall flat on his face, "Watch where you're going, dunce."

"Teme!"

"Hn."

Naruto, in his rage, was easily distracted by Sasuke. Kakashi, on the other hand, was wondering how on earth Naruto had managed to hear Tazuna from that far away. It shouldn't be possible unless he was an Inuzuka or another animal clan – which there wasn't, in Konoha at least, and Naruto definitely wasn't an Inuzuka. Tazuna, it seemed, was thinking the same thing.

"Kid's short but he's got hearing like a bat…"

In Naruto's mindscape, Musha groaned, _**"Be **_**careful**_**Kit…" **_Naruto suddenly caught on to what Kyuubi was distressed about.

"_Oops…"_

"Gah!" Naruto shook off his mistake, turning once more to point accusingly at Tazuna. "One day, I'll show you how's a dunce, old man! I'll become the best Hokage there is, and then you'll _have _to acknowledge me!"

"Like Hell I will, you brat. I doubt you'll _ever _become Hokage. And, even if you do become Hokage, I still won't acknowledge you." Without another word, Tazuna walked off down the path, the rest of Team 7 in tow. They left Naruto behind, steaming at the ears. His teeth gritted and his eye started to twitch.

"Why you—!"

Naruto tripped, once again portraying his clumsy mask. Sakura could be heard laughing all the way out of Fire Country.

A while later, Team 7 walked in near silence down the road. It was about five more minutes until Sakura's curiosity couldn't stay in any longer, "Ano… Tazuna-san?"

"Hai?" He glanced across at her as he walked in pace with their teacher.

"You are from the Wave Country, ne?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Without answering, the pink haired kunoichi turned to Kakashi, who was still reading Icha Icha Paradise, "Ano… Kaka-sensei, do they have ninjas in that country too?"

Naruto, who was tuning almost everything out, snorted inwardly, _"And they call her the number one kunoichi of the year. I'm the dead last and I _still_ know what's happening."_

"_**You know, Kit… Not everyone has been trained to be aware of things like that."**_

_Naruto almost blanched. "I can't believe you, Kyuubi! You're actually _defending_ that banshee!"_

"_**Technically, I'm not defending her. I'm just stating the fact."**_

Completely unaware of Naruto's inner dialogue with the Kyuubi, Kakashi ruffled the girl's hair and smiled. "No, Sakura, Wave Country doesn't have ninja like the hidden villages. But, don't worry… there won't be any ninja combat in a C-Rank mission. The worst there will be just a few bandits."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed the stiffening of Tazuna's body at the Jounin's words, '_Something's not right here… He's been too twitchy this whole time. Tazuna-san is definitely hiding something from us.'_ At that precise moment, it was then that the blonde sensed two chakra essences about ten meters in front of them, right on the road, but all Naruto saw was a puddle. _'Ha, I knew it! Why else would two ninjas be hiding like that? …Well, not that they are really smart. I mean, come on! Why would there be a puddle in the middle of a road that hasn't rained for __days__? Even those two should have noticed!' _He snuck a glance at the two preteens behind him, who was completely oblivious of the ambush waiting ahead, and sighed, '_Never mind. I must've overestimated them.'_

The blonde walked pass the suspicious-looking puddle, completely 'oblivious' of the danger that lay within. Just as the last person passed the innocent-looking puddle, there came the loud zip of whizzing chains. Team 7 and Tazuna looked back in horror, unwillingly captivated by the sight of Kakashi wrapped tightly in a thorny chain held by two masked ninjas. With a pull and a sickening sound, the Jounin was ripped apart, splashing in pieces into a pool of blood.

"One down…"

Sakura screamed. "Kaka-sensei!"

'_Kawarimi no Jutsu. It seems that Kakashi wants us to fight instead."_ The blonde looked at their opponents, _"Hmm… it's the Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist.' _Naruto remembered seeing their profiles in Kirigakure's Bingo Book.

**Name:** Meizu

**Registration ID:**

**Age:** 25

**Hidden Village:** Kirigakure no Sato

**Rank:** Chuunin, B-Class Missing Nin

**Kekkei Genkai:** N/A

**Alias:** Demon Brothers (Younger)

**Trademark Technique:** N/A

**Trademark Weapon:** Poisonous, large, metal claws on his left hand

**Others:** Wears a breath mask, always found with Gouzu

**Name:** Gouzu

**Registration ID:**

**Age:** 25

**Hidden Village:** Kirigakure no Sato

**Rank:** Chuunin, B-Class Missing Nin

**Kekkei Genkai:** N/A

**Alias:** Demon Brothers (Older)

**Trademark Technique:** N/A

**Trademark Weapon:** Poisonous, large, metal claws on his right hand

**Others:** Wears a breath mask, always found with Meizu

_One down…_

In a blink of an eye, they appeared behind a 'frozen stiff' Naruto, "Two down."

"Huh?" Unseen by all but the two Demon Brothers, Naruto smirked.

"Three strikes… and you're out."

_Three…-?_

The Demon Brothers and the other members of Team 7 blinked in confusion – suddenly a second Naruto appeared behind the two masked nuke-nins.

"Like I said…" He smirked triumphantly, "Three strikes."

The clone that had been cornered by the Brothers cocked back his fist, slugging the elder straight in the face.

'_One'_

The missing-nin reeled backwards, lashing out with his claws at the real Naruto. Misjudging the arc of the weapon, Naruto dodged easily, but the tip of the blades caught his left arm, ripping a gash in it from his forearm to the back of his hand. Naruto hissed and span about as he landed, aiming a kick at the younger brother.

The younger dodged simply and cracked the chains like a whip. They caught Naruto around the leg, but Naruto just smiled and swung his leg around, jerking the chain with him. The young brother foolishly held on, and was yanked forward. Naruto managed to land his second hit, bringing his free right leg round to crush into the Demon Brother's face.

'_Two'_

The momentum from the hit Naruto landed allowed the chain to unwrap itself from Naruto's left leg as the younger brother –Meizu– was flung sideways, crashing into Gouzu's frame. Naruto was just about to leap after them to land a final blow, when they suddenly both dissolved into water.

"Kuso!"

The two brothers had regrouped, and were hurtling towards Sakura. Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to get there in time. With their chains lashing out, the two brothers grinned. Sasuke, however, had different ideas. Not at all pleased with Naruto hogging all the fun, Sasuke leapt to intervene, pinning the chains to a tree with his projectile weapons.

Gouzu and Meizu detached their chains and jumped away from Sasuke. Instead, they headed for Tazuna, clawed hands extended. Tazuna quailed in fear, unable to move from the fright. He reeled back, his legs not working properly, just as the Demon Brothers lunged forward.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared. The brothers' eyes grew wide, but their momentum didn't allow them to jerk away. Naruto appeared inches in front of them with his right leg swinging down from above to land a heel to the back of Gouzu's neck, while his body twisted round with the kick, bringing his left fist round to collide forcefully with Meizu's head… and there was nothing the two brothers could do about it.

'_Thre—'_

Suddenly, before Naruto could land his third hit and knock the two brothers unconscious, he leapt back hurriedly as, out of nowhere, Kakashi appeared behind Gouzu and Meizu, gripping them by the hair and hauling them backwards, crashing their heads into the ground. It knocked them out and stopped their forwards momentum. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

"Sensei!" Came Sakura's relieved voice, the fact that her sensei was actually alive dawning on her. Naruto paid her no attention.

"Kakashi-sensei, what…-?-!" Naruto stared at his sensei with wide, reproachful eyes. "I had them right where I wanted them, believe it! Why did you stop me?-!"

Kakashi turned to him, smiling his U-shaped smile. "Naruto…" He said cheerfully, opening his eye again. "You're bleeding."

"Wha—? Oh!" Hurriedly, Naruto drew his still-bleeding forearm to him, his uninjured hand searching through his pockets for something to stop the bleeding. He gave a slit jump when his hand brushed something unexpected. After a moment, he realized that it was the scroll he had found attached to the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing.

"Naruto? You okay?"

At the sound of Sakura's voice, Naruto realized that he had stopped searching his pockets. "Oh, yeah, Sakura." He was about to continue searching, deciding to look at the scroll after the mission, when Kakashi took a hold of his injured arm gently.

"Let me take a look, Naruto…" He said lightly to the boy, smiling once more. "Those claws were poisonous!"

'_Tch, I already knew that…'_

"_**Perhaps you went a little overboard, Kit…"**_

"_Huh? You think I showed them too much?" _The boy pondered the Kitsune's words._ "Yeah, maybe… I'll be more careful next time…"_

"_**Perhaps being less careful would be better. If you were reckless, they would just believe it was a fluke."**_

"_Ha, I think they believe that already…"_

"Naruto?"

"Huh?" Startled, Naruto realized that he had let his mind wander away from the conscious world, retreating into his mindscape to converse with Sekimusha. Kakashi was looking up at his from where he crouched to get a better look at Naruto's arm. "Hai, Kaka-sensei?"

"I said that it looks fine…" For a split second, a frown appeared on Kakashi's face. _'The Kyuubi's already healing it…' _"I'll bandage it anyway, so it won't get infected." True to his word, Kakashi bandaged Naruto's forearm.

Watching Kakashi curiously, Tazuna asked, "How did you know…?"

"About the two Missing-nin…? On a sunny day like this, where it hasn't rain in days, there's not going to be a puddle," replied the Jounin in a matter-of-factly tone of voice.

Tazuna blinked at the simple realization, but then frowned, "If you knew that, why did you let the brats fight?"

"If I wanted to," The Jounin replied confidently, "I could've killed these two instantly, but…" His eyes darkened, "There was something I needed to find out… I needed to know who these two were after."

"What do you mean?"

"Meaning that… were they after you or one of us?" Kakashi took his eyes from Naruto's arm and fixed Tazuna with a piercing gaze, his brow furrowed. _'Many would've tried to assassinate Naruto…'_ "We haven't heard that there are shinobi's after you. Our mission was simply to protect you from thieves or gangs. This has now become at least a B-Rank mission. This was supposed to be a simple protection until you completed the bridge." Tazuna looked down, ashamed. "If it was known that ninjas were after you, this mission would've been set as the more expensive B-Rank. I'm sure you had a reason, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission. We are now operating outside of duties."

On the sidelines, Sasuke and Naruto stood in thought, while Sakura blinked nervously. "We… We aren't ready for this mission!" She exclaimed, slightly sweaty with fright, "Let's quit!"

Kakashi nodded a little, "This might to too much…"

"No!" Naruto cut in determinately. Everyone turned to look at him as he stared them all down defiantly, a fierce look in his eyes. "We are ninjas and we're supposed to expect the unexpected, aren't we? So, if that's true, I'm going on whether you like it or not! …If we don't go on, then how are we ever going to learn a shinobi's life, sensei? I don't see sense in over-protecting us."

Kakashi blinked and gazed at him for what seemed the longest moment. _'He's… got guts, I'll give him that.' _Naruto looked back at him, standing his ground, unwavering.

"Sasuke…Sakura…" Kakashi addressed them, looking over Naruto's head, "Do you feel ready to complete a mission of this status?"

"Hn." Sasuke nodded to his sensei without hesitation. If it helped him get stronger, he would participate… no matter what the cost. The Haruno's eyes, however, darted from Naruto to Sasuke, who were both now looking at her.

"…Sakura?"

Swallowing her fears, she fixed her sensei with the exact same defiance that burned within Sasuke and Naruto. She nodded.

Wherever Sasuke went, she would follow.

------

A while later found Team 7 aboard a small rowing boat…

"What thick mist… I can't see ahead," commented Naruto, somewhat annoyed. _'I wanted to see if there were any places for enemy ninja to hide…'_

The man who was rowing the boat spoke up, drawing the attention of the passengers, "We should see the bridge soon. Nami no Kuni is at the base of the bridge."

Soon enough, a wavering silhouette emerged from the mist. As the bridge came into view, Sakura exclaimed in awe, "Wow! It's huge!"

"Hey! Be quiet," reprimanded the man rowing them, "Why do you think we are hiding in the mist and not using the engine? We'll be in deep trouble if Gatou finds us!"

Soon they reached land and clambered carefully out of the boat. Sasuke and Sakura got off undisturbed. However, when Naruto's foot touched the shore, he immediately felt something was off.

"_**Kit, something's wrong here…" **_The demon's voice sounded in Naruto's head as the boy stepped out of the boat and looked around at the boat docks inconspicuously.

"_I know." _The boy replied, turning with his other team mates to wait as their sensei stepped of the boat, followed by their now-sober client._ "Someone is watching us… someone powerful… probably Jounin level… Do you recon Kaka-sensei knows?"_

"_**He is a former ANBU captain, isn't he? Of course he noticed… or at least suspects."**_

"_Yeah, you're right…"_

Although Naruto was being loud and brash, acting foolish on the outside, he, along with Sekimusha, were on high alert, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious at all. Suddenly, without warning, he threw a kunai into the bushes on the side of the road, startling everyone.

"Naruto-baka! What was that for?-!" _**Shannaro! Scaring me like that!**_

Without answering her, the blonde made a show of going over to the bushes and revealed a downright terrified white snow hare, frozen in fright. Right above its head, stuck to a tree, was the kunai Naruto just threw. Everyone let out a secret sigh of relief as the target was revealed – the hare was definitely _not_ an enemy.

"Baka! You scared it!" Sakura yelled, hitting Naruto over the head. Naruto just stumbled forward to the hare, pulling his weapon out of the tree.

Naruto hugged it tight, "Gomen, Usagi-chan!" _"They used Kawarimi no Jutsu…"_

Kakashi sighed, _'That Naruto… It was just a white snow hare…'_ Kakashi froze, his eyes widening as a thought came to him, _'Matte… a _white,_ white snow hare? Their fur is supposed to be brown in spring… That would mean… Kuso… the enemy is already here!'_

"Get down!" The Jounin's voice rang through the trees urgently, and the Genin obeyed, dragging Tazuna down with them. As they hit the floor, an object span through the air, ruffling the hair on their heads. With a thud, the gigantic sword held fast in a tree before them. Through strands of blonde hair, Naruto peered up, spying a ninja stood atop the blade. His eyes widened in shock.

'_M-Masaka…-!'_

"_**The Demon of the Hidden Mist…"**_

"_Momochi Zabuza…"_

**Name:** Momochi Zabuza

**Registration ID:**

**Age:** 25

**Hidden Village:** Kirigakure no Sato

**Rank:** Former ANBU, Jounin, A-Class Missing Nin

**Kekkei Genkai:** N/A

**Alias:** Devil of the Bloody Mist, Former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist

**Trademark Technique:** N/A

**Trademark Weapon:** Head Cleaving Sword

**Others:** He slaughtered all the one hundred candidates one day for the Genin Exams as a child when he was not even in the academy. This incident led to a pivotal change in the Genin Exams for the future. An expert in silent killing, Zabuza attempted to assassinate the Mizukage, but failed to do so.

Naruto got to his feet steadily, shrugging of Sakura who had dived haphazardly on top of him in her haste. _"He's a Jounin, Musha… I can't take him. What do we do? I can also sense someone else watching us… another male… a powerful too."_

"_**Leave it to Kakashi, Kit, and help him when needed… It's the only thing you **_**can**_**do…"**_

In apprehension, the three Genin watched as Zabuza conversed with Kakashi, seeming almost polite in his speech, like an old acquaintance greeting someone he met long ago…

"Well, well…" Kakashi chuckled, "If it isn't Momochi Zabuza… The kid who ran off and left the Land of the Hidden Mists…"

Beside him, Naruto felt Sasuke tense and he looked over to see that the Uchiha's jaw and fists were clenched, with a steely determination and defiance in his onyx eyes. Naruto could've sworn that, for a second, those piercing midnight orbs flickered to him, filled with a venomous daring. 'Don't you dare,' they seemed to say, 'Just try it and see how far you get.' Without quite knowing why, shivers ran down Naruto's spine.

'_Those eyes… that look… That look was…'_

Musha's voice resounded urgently in his head. _**"Kit, he's going to try and fight Zabuza! Hold him back if you have to! Stop him!"**_

'…_Itachi's look…'_

'Don't you dare, Naruto…'

For a moment, Naruto couldn't tell the difference between the past and the present. Caught in nostalgia, if anyone had asked him so, Naruto could've sworn to them that those eyes belonged to Itachi… With the same look, daring Naruto to go against him, to contradict him, to stop… For a moment, Naruto could've sworn that Sasuke was his brother in disguise.

"_**Naruto!"**_

Quick as a flash, Naruto's hand whipped out and gripped Sasuke by the arm. The Uchiha turned to him, the same burning look in his eyes.

"Don't," Naruto said calmly, his grasp tightening.

"_Don't do it, Itachi-nii!"_

Sasuke flinched at the harsh grip, fingers biting into his arm. Uncaring for the moment that he was slipping out of his happy-go-lucky routine, Naruto continued dominantly, "Don't be a fool and try to take him on by yourself."

"_You're being unreasonable, Itachi-nii! If you do this, you can't ever come back to Konoha!"_

As he looked at Naruto, Sasuke felt like snarling. How _dare_ Naruto talk like he knew him?-! Stupid dead-last! Yet, out of earshot of anyone else, Naruto kept talking. "You're just throwing your life away if you do, Sasuke."

"_Itachi, would you really do that to your own __family__?-!"_

Cerulean eyes burned right into Sasuke's soul, fixing him with the same look Itachi had given the Jinchuuriki so many times. "You. Can't. Beat. Him."

"_You can't do this! Itachi-nii!"_

"What would a Dobe like _you_ know?" Sasuke's voice was low, choked with barely suppressed rage, as he addressed the blonde. He tried to jerk his arm away, but Naruto held on stubbornly. "Luck is all _you _have!" _'It must've been luck, to get so near to defeating the Demon Brothers…' _"At least _I_ know how to use a strategy, unlike _you_ with your spur-of-the-moment rashness!" _'But still… The way he made it look so _easy_… I can't… I _won't_ let a dunce like him upstage me… I can't let someone as weak as him get stronger than me!' _

There was a look in Naruto's eye, and for a moment Sasuke wondered if Naruto could tell what he was thinking… if he was _that_ easy to read…

"Why the hell do you feel the need to prove yourself, Sasuke?-!"

The question was so unforeseen, so abrupt, that, for a moment, Sasuke was taken aback. He blinked in surprise and stopped tensing up against Naruto's strong hold. Naruto let his arm drop and gazed at him with a look that Sasuke couldn't identify. "Why, Sasuke?" He asked quietly. Sasuke gazed back, his sight slightly unfocused, no doubt their whispered conversation dragging up memories from the past.

"…"

"…"

"…For my brother."

Naruto and Sasuke faced each other and, at that moment, Naruto swore that Sasuke and Itachi were one in the same.

"_Itachi… Why?"_

"…_For my brother."_

The words were the exact same… but the meanings, so totally different… Sasuke was trying to prove himself, so that he could kill Itachi… But… Itachi… Itachi just wanted to save him.

Naruto blinked a few times, as though dragging himself from a deep stupor. He was no longer confused by the past. In his mind, his memory of Itachi had, only for a moment, overlapped Sasuke, confusing him greatly. Now, the differences were made oh so clear to him. Naruto relaxed and, content, now, with the order of the past and present again, hid within his mask of smiles once more.

Sasuke averted his gaze and, without another word, Naruto turned away.

Their conversation had gone unnoticed by all, with everyone else to busy facing the Mist Demon. As Sasuke and Naruto turned back to the unfolding battle, they carefully avoided each others gaze, instead choosing to ignore all that had just happened. Naruto believed that he had just found the single chink in Sasuke's, other-wise full proof, emotional armor.

"_**Serves him right, then, for choosing the path of an avenger; he'll have to learn to expect a few kinks that he'll have to smooth out. If he didn't know it was going to be tough, avenging the past, he shouldn't have vowed revenge on his brother!"**_

"_Musha, can't you learn to show a bit of empathy? It wouldn't hurt, you know!"_

"_**He's a tough kid, he doesn't need my sympathy!"**_

"_There's a difference between being sympathetic and empathetic, Musha… And I'm not telling you that you have to be, all I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt you to be a bit kinder…"_

"_**Naruto, I'm a thousand year old demon, sealed inside you. No one's going to know if I'm being kind or not, let alone care if I am!"**_

"_Yeah, yeah, you're just worried it'll ruin your reputation." _

"_**Shut up and eyes on the fight, Kit, you never know, you might just learn something new…"**_

With a small start, Naruto turned his eyes to where Kakashi had just revealed his sole Sharingan. Naruto watched, intrigued, having only seen Itachi's Sharingan in action a few times in the past.

"_**Watch closely, Kit… Because if you think I'm teaching you anything new this week after all that crap about empathizing, you're **_**so**_** wrong."**_

"_Nani?-! Musha—!" _

The Kyuubi just laughed. _**'Me, empathizing? Yeah right, I think that talk he had with the Uchiha brat unhinged Kit a bit… he's out of his frickin' mind!'**_

Unaware to the Kyuubi's musings, Naruto watched warily as pure killing intent emanated from Kakashi as his brown and blood red eyes searched for Zabuza in the rapidly forming mist. The intent was so thick and suffocating, that it froze Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna to the spot. Naruto couldn't blame them, for even _he_ was somewhat intimidated by the sheer _hate_ rolling off Kakashi in waves.

There was a sudden spike in the blood lust, and Naruto gulped apprehensively, his hands shaking as the feeling of pure despise enveloped him. _This_ was the level of an ex-Anbu captain… Zabuza's laughed echoed from the fog, ringing in their ears.

"Relax," Kakashi's voice suddenly pierced the uncanny silence that had fallen. The three Genin raised their eyes to lock with their sensei's as he looked over his shoulder. Slowly, reassuringly, Kakashi smiled, "Even if I'm killed, I will _never_ let my comrades die."

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at the last statement, _'A fat help you are once you're dead. Besides, mistakes of the past can easily be repeated.'_ However, despite his misgivings, Naruto found the strength to repel the killing intent, thanks to Kakashi's words of reassurance. Looking to his left, he saw that Sasuke and Sakura had been able to do the same.

Someone, however, obviously didn't believe Kakashi's self-proclamation, as Zabuza's cruel laughter echoed in their ears once more.

"I wouldn't bet on that…"

Perhaps Kakashi realized before Naruto, perhaps not, but it didn't matter for they both moved at the same time.

"Game over, gaki."

Zabuza suddenly materialized in the midst of the Genin, sword already swinging round to live up to its name as Naruto's eyes widened and he fell backwards, pulling Tazuna with him. At the same moment, Kakashi used the Shunshin no Jutsu and drove a kunai into Zabuza's side, simultaneously flinging Sasuke and Sakura from harm.

Hefting himself into a sitting position on the floor, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he spied not blood, but water dripping from the wound in Zabuza's side where Kakashi still held the kunai. With a gasp, Naruto gave a yell, "Sensei, behind you!"

The Mizu Bunshin exploded into water as Kakashi whipped around in time to see Zabuza's sword swing wide and low, slicing his midsection in half. Sakura screamed and Sasuke's eyes widened. For a moment, Kakashi looked surprised, Zabuza triumphant, before the Hatake suddenly burst into ribbons of water, splashing to the ground.

"Wha—?-!"

A cold blade was pressed against the Mist Demon's neck. Zabuza hissed as Kakashi looked at him in contempt, "Game over, _gaki_." The Leaf Jounin copied the Demon's words just like he copied the Demon's jutsus. There was a heartbeat of absolute silence, before Zabuza suddenly laughed. Kakashi frowned and pressed harder on the blade as he stood behind the missing-nin.

"You think it's over, Kakashi? Give me some credit. I'm not _that_ easy to fool…"

Then he too scattered into water droplets and Kakashi's kunai slipped from his grasp. _'Kuso!' _On instinct, Kakashi ducked as the great blade once more swung at his midsection. The Hatake felt his hair raffle in the blade's wake and, before he knew it, he had been kicked high into the air. _'Nani?-!'_

He landed with a splash in the nearby lake, coughing slightly as he rose to the surface. _'The water… It's… heavy… Why…-?'_

"Suirou no Jutsu!"

"Nani?-!" Water encased him, swirling up from beneath his feet as Zabuza trapped him in the water prison. Gasping and suddenly having the urge to voice every swear word he knew, Kakashi looked out across the water to where his Genin stood, shocked and scared. Despair washed over him when he realised that there was no way he could get out.

"Kami damn him…" Kakashi whispered, a snarling hate bubbling up in his chest as he peered up at Zabuza, leering down at up. "Dammit!" He swore again. He locked eyes with his team. "Just run!"

"It's no use, Kakashi… Their so incapable, they can't even move from fear… _look _at them."

And Kakashi _did_ look. Sakura's eyes were wide and she was trembling, whereas Sasuke looked determined, yet unsure what to do… He would obviously get jumpy if the uncertainty carried on for long. Then, Kakashi's eyes found Naruto's and saw that he was completely calm.

'_Normally, I would praise him for being calm in such a situation…demo… Naruto's the one kid who'll disregard anything anyone says and do something reckless… Dammit, Naruto—!'_

Kakashi's thoughts were cut off as Zabuza suddenly spoke, grinning at him with an evil look in his eye. "I'll finish you later, Kakashi… Now that you're out of the way, I have no _hindrance_. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" There was a swishing sound as a second Zabuza morphed out of the water and advanced on the three Genin.

"You, gaki, you call yourself a ninja? I bet you're scared of even such a trivial thing as getting injured, let alone dying… I can see you trembling as you stand." Zabuza's sadistic eyes found Naruto's somewhat calm ones and the demon smiled, his eyes lighting up with an evil sheen of hungry delight. "…Whereas a true ninja is one who has crossed and re-crossed the border between the lands of the living and the dead…"

'_He thinks I don't know that? He says that like he's died a thousand times over… I bet he never had over one hundred assassination attempts by the age of four…'_

"_**Don't do anything reckless, Kit…"**_

"_Ha, look who's talking? You would've ripped his head off already!"_

"_**Hai, demo, Kit, I'm a Bijuu **_**King**_**, I'm allowed to be reckless**_**." **Naruto could almost see the smugness in his voice.

"_Well, Ou no Bijuu, your recklessness is what got you tricked by a certain Hebi Sannin and got you sealed within me."_

"_**Hey! That's a low blow…"**_

"_Hai, demo, Musha, guess what?"_

The Kyuubi heaved an exasperated sigh, swearing that he could almost _see_ his vessel's hidden smirk. _**"What, Kit?"**_

"_It's true." _Cue serious blow to a certain Bijuu _King's _pride right about here.

"_**Kit?"**_

Something about the Kyuubi's suddenly calm, collected and absolutely normal voice should have warned Naruto to watch his step right then. However, Naruto was completely oblivious, too busy silently laughing at his own joke… which was kind of sad, in the Kyuubi's eyes. Luckily, on the outside, the blonde looked as serious as anything could be, staring defiantly at Zabuza. Little did the Mist Demon know that, Naruto's gaze was actually turned inwards, towards the Kyuubi.

Soon, Naruto finally got his laughter under control,_ "Hai, Musha?" _

The Kyuubi smirked and Naruto suddenly felt very exposed. _**"I'd look out, if I were you."**_

Naruto snapped back to reality just in time to find Zabuza's foot connecting soundly with his chest. "Ack—!" He landed with a crash on the ground, vaguely hearing Sakura scream his name through the buzzing filling his ears. A drip of blood slid from the corner his mouth.

Amazingly, he smiled, "Heh."

"_You blocked my senses on purpose, you damn fox!" _

Musha just laughed wholeheartedly at that_**"It's your own fault for provoking someone who has the power to do that to you."**_

"_Shut it, fox," _growled Naruto as he immediately cut off the Kyuubi's voice, turning his attention to Zabuza. Carefully, Naruto clambered to his feet, an aura of carelessness about him.

"Yo, what's it like living without eyebrows…" Naruto gave another cough, blood tumbling in a small stream from the corner of his mouth. "…Freak?"

Zabuza's nonexistence eyebrows twitched at that comment, and he leaked out a dose more of killing intent. Kakashi was staring at him, eyes wide in pure horror, knowing Naruto has just signed his death contract. From behind the blonde, Sasuke and Sakura were looking anxiously from Zabuza to Naruto and back. They were wondering if he was going to get himself killed.

'_I can't take him on and win… that would be plain stupid…' _Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth, grinning triumphantly. Zabuza would never guess the millions of plans flashing behind his cerulean eyes. _'My best bet is to get Kakashi free… I can see a few possible ways of doing it… But there's that stranger, in the woods… watching us.' _His eyes flickered briefly to the exact spot where a hunter-nin stood, hidden to any eyes but his own. _'Something tells me that he's not on our side…Dammit! What to do…-?' _

Then it hit him. It was the most efficient –albeit not the easiest– plan at his disposal. At least, it wouldn't compromise on his hidden abilities. _'It's too early for them to know the real me…' _

"Oi, Sasuke, Sakura… Listen up."

Sakura and Sasuke's attention immediately turned to him, surprised. Sasuke spoke, "What is it, Dobe?"

Naruto grinned foxily, "I have a plan."

------

Within his water-y prison, Kakashi watched the scene unfold with avid eyes, trying to see any way out of the unfolding situation. _'Baka Naruto doesn't know when to quit!' _

"What the hell is wrong with you?-!" The Jounin yelled desperately, his voice slightly broken up by the water sphere swirling about him. "Get out of here, it's already over! You have to protect the bridge builder!"

Startled by unexpected cry, Naruto started and turned to his sensei. "Huh?-!" He raised an eyebrow and answered back, disbelieving, "Sensei, didn't you first say that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worst then scum?-!" Naruto's cerulean eyes blazed defiance as he looked Kakashi squarely in the eyes, unflinching as his steely gaze met the Sharingan, daring the Jounin to say otherwise. "You are our comrade, Kaka-sensei, and we're not leaving you behind!" His voice dropped to a growl and he glared at his sensei. "Don't you _ever_ say different, Sensei."

For once, Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy-Ninja, esteemed ex-Anbu Captain and son of the White Fang, was completely stunned; he didn't know how he should react. Part of him was proud that they took his words to heart, and yet, another part was distressed knowing that they might as well have just handed their souls to the Shinigami on a silver platter.

'_Baka, Naruto. Stupid idiot.'_

"Oi, Ojii?"

Tazuna started, realizing that Naruto was addressing him. "Hai?"

"Can we…?" Naruto trailed off as he gazed up at the old man with his infamous puppy dog eyes. The ones that usually got Kyuubi, Sandaime Hokage, Iruka and all his other precious people to do as he said.

Tazuna gave a deep, long sigh at the blonde's hopeful gaze, "It's my fault you got into this mess in the first place, lying about the requirements… The least I can do to repay you is to let you save your sensei." He let out a small smile, "Don't worry about me, gaki, just do what you want to do."

Naruto turned back to the two Jounin with triumph in his blue eyes as he stuck out his tongue in a childish manner, "Tazuna-jiji just gave us the permission to stay behind, so _there_!"

Kakashi glared at him through the water prison as Zabuza just threw back his head and laughed.

"Soon, shrimp, you're going to wish he'd never given you that _permission_." The Mist Demon sneered, grinning insanely beneath his mask of bandages.

Naruto's face turned to a snarl as he forced a smile. As calmly as could be expected for the insult he had just received, he asked, "What did you just call me?"

In his cage, Sekimusha snickered into his paws, eagerly awaiting the blonde's next move. Past experiences had told him that Naruto seriously hated being called short. The word 'shrimp' was practically taboo.

"Screw the plan." Naruto glared at the smirking Jounin as he let out a small animalistic growl, killer intent leaked from every fiber of his being. Although, it was only a tiny bit compared to what Naruto could _really_ generate – he decided it wouldn't be good for a Genin to be seen releasing anything other than what he was releasing now. He satisfied himself with the knowledge that, had he released his normal amount of killing intent, Zabuza would've surely flinched.

Without warning, Naruto leapt wildly at the clone, kunai in hand, bearing slightly longer canines thanks to Musha's excitement of the forthcoming battle.

"Naruto!" Sakura's frightened outburst echoed through the air as a mist suddenly rolled in from all sides, swallowing up her team mate and shielding him from her sight. "_Naruto!_"

Ignoring Sakura's worried cries, Naruto hurtled towards Zabuza's real body, dodging the water clone, clenching the kunai tight in his hand as he ran. With another leap, he saw the Mist Demon's hand shift to his gigantic sword, ready to swing it outwards and split the blonde's stomach wide open. Tensing, Naruto waited until his momentum hurled him close enough so that he could see the burning desire for battle gleaming in Zabuza's eyes, before he suddenly disappeared.

Growling, Zabuza's head whipped from side to side, surprised, "Was that Shunshin no Jutsu?" His eyes narrowed, "Iie… It was just a shadow clone." His thick mist apparently was a double-edged sword, as it had hindered his own eyes; the smoke from the dispelled clone had been camouflaged amid the swirling expanse of white.

Suddenly, there was a shift in the air. The mist thickened and out of the white vapors flew a giant Windmill Shuriken; startled at first, Zabuza's look of surprise turned to a smirk as he deftly caught it in his hand. Laughing at the sheer fruitlessness of the Konoha ninja's situation, he was suddenly cut off by a fist flying out from his left. His laughter was cut short and he leant back to avoid it, his arm still encasing the water prison around Kakashi's helpless frame.

Naruto's form faded out of the fog like a ghost, flitting out towards Zabuza. To the Jinchuuriki's annoyance, the Demon of the Hidden Mist easily dodged all of his blows, still keeping the swirling water torrent in place. Naruto growled.

"_**He **_**is**_** a Jounin, Kit…"**_

The halfway consoling comment from the Kyuubi was dutifully ignored as Naruto slipped back into the mist, weapons clanging to the ground, deflected by Zabuza's sword that was currently being wielded with one hand. _'If he had both free… I wouldn't stand a chance. Kuso!'_

Naruto froze. Zabuza's killing intent was pushing down on him from all sides, trying to force him out. Subconsciously, Naruto noted that this was probably how people felt when he gave them a dose of his own bloodlust. Right now, Naruto couldn't move. The sheer force of the Jounin's intent had him frozen to the spot. Dear Kami, it was terrifying!

"**Move**_**Kit!"**_

At the barking command in the Kyuubi's voice, Naruto suddenly snapped out of his rabbit-caught-in-headlights frame of mind. He shook himself and growled, suddenly feeling very tired.

'_Dammit, what the hell's happening? My chakra's low…'_

"_**Well, with you laying your own Kirigakure no Jutsu on top of Zabuza's to give you cover, it's draining your chakra reserves even further when they're still not back to their original level from that training you did the other day, you baka! I warned you and warned you but you wouldn't—!"**_

"_Just… shut it, Musha."_

'_My chakra won't last much longer at this rate…Kuso…' _Naruto growled under his breath. '_Change of plan… Where's that bastard Sasuke?'_

Zabuza stood in the mist; alone save for the trapped Jounin by his side, his water doppelganger having been dispelled since the mist swelled up. _'That brat… What's he up to now?'_

Suddenly, from the corner of his sharp eyes, he caught the sight of another giant shuriken zooming towards him. Zabuza jumped over the dangerous weapon in the nick of time, just an inch above it. "You'll have to do better than that, gaki!" he shouted triumphantly to the air.

Momentarily, his heightened ears caught the sounds of a small poof behind him, and he turned his head sharply, to see Naruto falling through the air with a kunai ready in his hand.

"Sasuke!" The Jinchuuriki's voice rang out through the doubled mist which, Zabuza discovered too late, had been a cover for the Uchiha. As the kunai left the blonde's hand from behind the Mist Demon, a fireball suddenly morphed from the mist, heading straight for the Jounin missing-nin. Zabuza swore. With an attack from either front, his only option was to dodge completely. He wrenched his arm from the water prison as the kunai grazed his cheek, blood spurting into the fog Naruto's jutsu was still creating.

Water crashed in torrents into the lake as Naruto made it back to dry land, unnoticed by anyone else. Coughing the water from his lungs –due to his impact with the water after his little stunt–, he pulled himself up against a tree, not noticing that he was a fair bit further down the lake's shore from his team mates, not to mention covered from their sight by the curving tree line.

With a small cough, Naruto dispelled his Hidden Mist technique, the fatigue of chakra depravation finally dragging down his small frame. _'Damn… no more training for me for a while… I should've listened to that damned fox…' _Looking out across the water, he spied Kakashi climbing from the lake to stand and face the Kirigakure Jounin. "Heh." Naruto smiled tiredly at the thought of the ass-kicking Zabuza was sure to receive, before swaying dangerously. His head span and vision blurred as he suddenly collapsed, hitting the ground.

Suddenly, in the back of his ebbing mind, he was aware of a strange chakra presence beside him. It seemed… familiar; where had he felt it before? That's when he realized – his team mates didn't know where he was. As the mind-numbing darkness claimed his consciousness, the foreign chakra presence slipped from his memory and his last thoughts were ones of annoyance.

'_Crap… I'm… not getting… left behind…'_

He really should've listened to that damned fox.

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	6. Through The Mist

**Now, onto the next chapter!**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

**

* * *

**

**A Fox's Deception  
_Through the Mist_**

The leaves made not a sound under his feet as he slowly made his way over to the orange-clad boy, who was lying unconscious on the ground. Stepping lightly, he soon found himself beside the boy. Slowly, he knelt upon the ground, just gazing intently at the ninja's whiskered face from behind his own porcelain mask.

His steady breath seemed to echo within the small space, and coal black eyes fixed upon the youth, only slightly younger than he. An internal struggle seemed to hold the masked ninja in place beside the boy, half wanting to stand and walk away, the other half bound by an unseen conscience.

All of time seemed to stand still, the whiskered boy none the wiser to the lithe hunter-nin crouching above him. Nearby, a twig snapped beneath the foot of a small animal, but the hunter-nin did not move. Seemingly after an age, the masked teenager's hand twitched, and made to move as if to slice the unconscious boy's throat.

However, the older boy suddenly drew back and froze, all time ceasing to exist once again as his inner battle continued on ferociously. Until, that is, his voice broke through the heavily tense silence. "Master, should I… kill him now?" He expected no answer, and he didn't receive one. With a soft sigh, he stood up gracefully and disappeared in a swirl of mist, his decision made.

All the while, Naruto lay there, unconscious on the ground, completely unaware of just how close he had come to leaving the world for good.

------

Shocked and slightly – if not a lot more – intimidated, Sakura gazed up into the branches of a tree, where a masked ninja stood, casually twirling a senbon needle in his hand. He bowed slightly, "Apologies, Jounin-san, you fought against him well, but I wanted to make sure I finished Zabuza off myself." His voice held no emotion, reminding Sakura of Sasuke's monotone, but its tones held other such tints that Sasuke's voice never carried – it was softer; kinder.

Kakashi, who was kneeling beside Zabuza's lifeless body, turned to lock eyes with the young hunter-nin – onyx meeting onyx. He noted lightly that the hunter-nin seemed to be only a few years older than his team of Genin. _'Something's definitely off here… but I don't have enough chakra to deal with another potential enemy… Not while protecting the others…' _Nevertheless, Kakashi cautiously stepped back from the body as the stranger materialized beside him, wisps of opaque mist dancing about him, bending down to pick Zabuza up from the floor and, grunting slightly, slinging him over his shoulder.

Just before he left, the hunter-nin looked back up at them. "Your teammate is lying under a tree in the woods to your left… You might want to go get him." A harsh wind blew, and he was gone.

Kakashi blinked a few times and looked around. In the aftermath and sudden appearance of the hunter-nin, the absent Jinchuuriki had completely slipped from his mind. From the surprised and slightly guilty looks on everyone else's faces, they had too. Truthfully, it was just Tazuna's face that held a slightly guilty expression. Sakura was staring lovingly at the brooding Sasuke, who just didn't care one way or another.

Sighing at the predictability, the Jounin motioned for the other Genin and Tazuna to stay there while he ventured into the woods alone.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't that hard to find Naruto – an orange bundle against a backdrop of green and brown. Kneeling beside him, Kakashi gently shook the boy's shoulder – just for good measure – before lifting him carefully and shifting him around until Naruto was positioned on his back, piggy back style. Kakashi then proceeded to carry him back to the others.

There he was met with Tazuna's concerned look, Sasuke's nonchalant one, and Sakura's worried squeal. "Naruto's just fine," Kakashi assured them. "I guess he just used too much chakra back there. Come on, let's go." He looked at the bridge builder, "Tazuna, lead the way. The sooner we get there, the sooner Naruto can rest properly."

Both Tazuna and Sakura nodded, turning to walk away. They were followed not too soon after by Sasuke, Kakashi falling in last. The Jounin could already feel his own chakra exhaustion setting in, but he refused to give in to it and just carried on walking. His feet dragged slightly on the floor, but if anyone noticed, they didn't say anything, guessing – correctly – that his pride as a seasoned Jounin refused to let him give in and ask for help with such an easy task as carrying an unconscious teen.

Nevertheless, the walk to Tazuna's house never seemed so long. Silence hung around them as they continued on. It was uncommon in Team 7, but the only one who usually lightened up the atmosphere was dead to the world.

All the while, they were all lost in their own thoughts. Sasuke's giant green monster had reared up its ugly head as he glared heatedly at the peacefully sleeping blonde on Kakashi's back. Very tempting thoughts of forcing Naruto by any means possible to reveal all he knew were running across his slightly twisted and obsessed mind. A strange glint showed itself in his onyx black eyes, telling faint trails of madness. Perhaps, if Kakashi had spotted it, he might've been able to prevent some horrible things about to happen in the near future. Alas, there was no such luck.

Conversely, Sakura was happily lost in her own dream world… one where Sasuke loved her unconditionally. Ah… the poor girl! She was obviously deluded.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was thinking of the hunter-nin, Zabuza and, most of all, a certain hyperactive Genin… The boy had shown great skills in his battle against one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist… great skills by a Genin's – or possibly even low Chuunin's – standards at least. Not many Chuunin are able to boast that he/she was able to fight an A-Class missing-nin somewhat equally. The blonde had skills that no dead last could have ever dreamed to accomplish at this stage of their ninja career. Perhaps it was the Kyuubi? Too caught up in his thoughts, Kakashi frowned both mentally and physically, gazing out at the path ahead with unseeing eyes. The only thing keeping him from straying away from the others was his battle-formed instincts. Although, if asked, he would deny even the slightest accusation that he had let his mind wander.

Meanwhile, Tazuna looked at the four ninja beside him as he worried over Gatou and everyone else back at his village… especially whether they would really be able to defeat the rich thug and his cronies.

Pretty soon, although to Kakashi's worn-out body it felt like ages, they arrived at Tazuna's house, situated on the outskirts of Wave Country's one – and only – village.

Sighing in relief, Tazuna stepped forward and knocked on the door, before pushing it open. "Tsunami!" he called out loudly to the seemingly empty house. The door swung shut with a click and there was silence for a few moments. The silence was broken, however, when footsteps could be heard and a beautiful young woman walked into sight.

"Otousan, you're back! Oh…-!" She stopped in surprise when she saw the guests, "Are they…-?"

Tazuna nodded and smiled, introducing the ninja behind him, "One-eye, here, is Hatake Kakashi…"

"Yo!" The Jounin's eye curved upwards in a smiled greeting, completely ignoring the one-eyed comment as he shifted Naruto on his back. The Jinchuuriki didn't stir. Tsunami looked questioningly at him, and Tazuna carried on.

"…the KO-ed blonde is Uzumaki Naruto…"

Obviously, Naruto didn't speak a word as eyes flickered beneath closed eyelids. Only a soft, tired sigh could be heard from the exhausted blonde. Tazuna then motioned to the two other Genin.

"…This brooding duck-head is Uchiha Sasuke…"

"Hn…"

"Don't call Sasuke-kun 'duck-head'!"

"…and pinkie here is Haruno Sakura."

"Hey—!" Sakura's dignified protest was interrupted by a sleepy chuckle. All eyes turned, surprised, to the blonde on Kakashi's back. Naruto was still dead to the world, a small smile adorning his worn out features. Sakura flushed, despite the fact that Naruto didn't even know what was going on. She turned away sharply, her own hair whipping her in the face, and she huffed to herself. All the while, Naruto didn't wake up.

"Anyway," Tazuna continued as though the blonde hadn't – unintentionally – interrupted, "They are the ninjas I've managed to hire from Konohagakure no Sato."

Tsunami bowed her head gratefully to them before smiling gently. "Domo arigatou for bringing my Otousan home safely even though I know he can be slightly… overbearing, at times." Her gaze settled up the unconscious Jinchuuriki once more. "I have a few spear futons for your teammates and yourselves, if any of you would like to rest up…"

Kakashi nodded in thanks, motioning for her to lead the way – Naruto was getting quite heavy and Kakashi was already using the rest of his chakra just to keep _himself_ from falling unconscious like the teen on his back.

Carefully, Kakashi slid the blonde off his back and placed him on one of the futons, which Tsunami had laid out just minutes before. As he did, the Jounin noticed blood staining the bandage on Naruto's forearm. With a weary sigh, Kakashi concluded that the wound from the Demon Brothers – albeit healing abnormally fast, as it was – must've re-opened in Naruto's clash with Zabuza.

With deft movements, Kakashi removed Naruto's blazing orange jacket – that, in the Jounin's eyes, was just screaming 'Here I am! Torture, maim and kill me!' – so as to get an uninhibited view of the wound. As he shifted the boy, though, a movement caught his eye. A small, tightly wound scroll fell from one of the pockets of Naruto's orange pants.

Frowning, Kakashi took a hold of it and pulled it from its hiding place i.e., Naruto's pocket. Turning it over in his hand, a single word caught his eye… 'Naruto'. The Copy-nin froze, stunned, as he recognized the writing in which the name of his student was inscribed.

'_Masaka… Does he…-?' _Kakashi gazed at his student with an intense, slightly disbelieving, frown visible from beneath his mask. Dragging his eyes back to the scroll in his hand, the Jounin noted the seal had yet to be broken. _'…Iie.' _Then was a pivotal moment for Kakashi. If he placed the scroll back to where he had found it, then Naruto would surely read it, but, if Kakashi took the scroll, Naruto wouldn't have to find out what was written on the inside… not yet, anyway.

After a long moment, Kakashi sighed once more and gently slid the scroll back into his student's pocket. _'He'll eventually find out anyway… I just hope he's ready; ready for the truth…' _Bandaging up the unconscious Jinchuuriki's forearm, Kakashi folded the orange jacket neatly and placed it beside the futon, before getting to his feet and walking steadily back to the others in the next room.

His face gravely set with the knowledge of the scroll he'd just discovered, Kakashi suddenly didn't feel that tired anymore.

------

Naruto groaned quietly as he shifted slightly, expecting to feel the damp ground of the forest beneath him, just as it had been before he had passed out. As he did, he realized three things. One was that he was lying on something soft, probably a mattress, which he took to mean that he was somewhere safe, and not still lying vulnerably in the forest. The second thing he realized was that there was a soft murmuring above him, meaning he wasn't alone. The third was that he could barely move.

'_Ku…so…' _

He made an odd noise, half way between a whimper and another groan, as he shifted once more, opening his eyes blearily as he did so. He blinked, then blinked again, then wished he could sink right back into unconsciousness as pink hair swam into focus.

"Naruto! You're awake!" A loud voice screeched from his side, hitting his sensitive ears hard as the sounded vibrated around in his head… In his opinion, it was still way too early to hear any normal-level noise, let alone the loud screech his teammate-by-force just gave him.

'_No, I'm not; it's just your imagination…' _His eyes drifted closed briefly as he frowned, but there was no hope in hell that he was going to be allowed to fall back into blissful, banshee-voice-free, oblivion that easily._ 'So you can stop shouting that I'm obviously awake!'_

"Urgh…" Naruto groaned as Sakura's shrilly voice – though not as loud as Naruto's thoughts made it out to be – managed to pierce through his fogged mind and spur on the headache that was already pounding a mantra on the inside of his skull. "Sakura… Would you mind… tuning it down a bit?" Wow, his voice sounded so weak.

"Oops! Gomen, Naruto!" The kunoichi immediately clapped her hands over her mouth sheepishly while a soft snort was heard from Naruto's other side.

"So, finally returned to the land of the living, Dobe?" A mocking voice called out arrogantly; Naruto could even hear the smirk in his almost-monotonous voice. Three guesses who that was… and the first two didn't count. Naruto didn't bother replying. Instead he blinked once more at his surroundings.

"Where the hell am I? And how long was I out?" He was pleased to note that his voice sounded stronger now, if still a bit wavering.

"You're in Tazuna's house," came Kakashi's voice from the foot of Naruto's futon, as the Jounin slipped through into the room, obviously alerted to his waking by Sakura's raised voice. Naruto mentally cursed himself for not coming to that conclusion before he voiced his question – now he just looked like a complete idiot… not that he wasn't meant to be, of course.

"You've been out for only a few hours." The one-eyed ninja continued, book in hand as always. "Although," Kakashi continued, turning a page in his book and giggling, "You probably won't be able to move for a few days."

"Kuso…" Oh, how Naruto longed to rip the book from his sensei's hands and burn it on the spot… Yet he couldn't, what with his arms throbbing and feeling as heavy as lead and all. Naruto then frowned. "You know, if I'm suffering from chakra exhaustion, then why does one side of my body hurt more than the other?"

He voiced the question out loud, his blue eyes piercing into Kakashi, suspecting the reason to have something to do with the Jounin. Kakashi shifted slightly under the gaze, obviously guilty, and shrugged, while Sakura left out a small laugh.

"Well, it may have something to do with the fact that Kakashi-sensei dropped you on the ground at least twice on the way here…" Sakura giggled again, due to her sensei making desperate 'shushing' gestures from out of Naruto's line of vision. Naruto turned to him, deadpanning, as Kakashi immediately put up his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture, his precious book still clutched in one of them.

"It wasn't _at least_ twice… It was just… err… heh, heh…" The Jounin trailed off bashfully and instead settled for looking slightly guilty.

'_At least twice__ my ass… it feels like he dropped me at least _five_ times… from a huge tree… onto solid concrete…Dammit.'_

Naruto growled, glaring at his sensei, and managed to shakily raise his arm to point accusingly at the perverted Jounin with all the strength he could muster… which was quite an accomplishment, considering he'd only woken up literally two minutes before. "I don't care how many times you dropped me! The next time I'm out of it, I refuse to have you, Ero-baka-sensei, carry me!"

"Hn… No way in hell I am going to be carrying you, dobe." Sasuke interjected stubbornly.

"Yeah! What Sasuke-kun said!" The pink-haired kunoichi practically yelled her compliance.

Naruto just deadpanned at their sudden outbursts. He should've expected that. '_Kuso!_' With an exasperated sigh, the blonde let his hand flop down again, covering his eyes with his arm to block out the light which was pounding painfully against his retinas.

"_Yo… Musha…" _For the first time in Naruto's life, there was no reply, which was definitely strange. "_Hey, Musha! Where are you?-!"_

There was a pause where, oddly enough, Naruto could've sworn he heard scuffling from the back of his mind, before it was followed by a groggy voice _**"What? Who is it?"**_

Although slightly relieved to hear the demon's voice, Naruto was still a bit annoyed. He replied sarcastically,_ "Oh, I don't know, who do you think you're sealed into?-!"_

"_**Oh, kit? S'at you?"**_ The Bijuu's voice was much clearer now, if still a bit dazed.

"_No frickin' duh." _

There was another pause, in which Naruto could've sworn that the thousand year old demon was actually feeling embarrassed._** "Well… err… what's wrong?"**_

"_Musha, why aren't you healing me?"_

After a short pause, Sekimusha replied slowly, _**"…I am…"**_

"_No, you're not!" _A sudden thought struck Naruto then, and suddenly it all became clear._ "Oi, Musha…-! You were sleeping the whole time, weren't you?-!"_ There was only an awkward silence at the other end._"HA! I was right! You _were_ sleeping!"_

"_**Iie! No! No, I wasn't!" **_Despite the demon's feeble protests, Naruto knew better.

"_And you tell _me _not to slack off…" _Naruto mentally grinned with glee. _'I'll get him for this…'_

Determined for Naruto to forget his momentary slip up, the Kyuubi diverted his container's attention. _**"Oi, Kit, your teammates are calling you."**_

"_Nani?-! Kuso…-!" _Pulling himself from his mindscape, Naruto blinked and, after a bit of effort on his part, lifted his arm of his eyes. He found his team mates and sensei all gazing at him, slightly worried. "Eh-heh… Was somebody saying something?" If he could've found the strength to scratch the back of his head sheepishly, he would have.

"No, Naruto, no one said anything important," Sakura told him, looking concerned. "You just zoned out of it all of a sudden… We've been calling your name for the past five minutes."

'_Five minutes?-! Damn demon could've told me sooner!'_

The blonde grinned foxily to cover his slip up, "Sorry, I guess I accidentally fell asleep again, heh heh…" Luckily, no one questioned him, but from time to time, curious, and sometimes worried, glances were sent his way. Naruto just sighed.

"So… What happened to Zabuza?" The question was thrown to the room nonchalantly, but naturally all eyes turned to their sensei, for it was he who would no doubt fill Naruto in on the specifics.

"Well…" started the Jounin after a slight pause, "…I fought him and won but—"

"So, he's dead?"

"Let me finish, Naruto. I fought him and won but before I could kill him, a Mist Hunter-nin struck him down and took Zabuza away. It was only later that we came to the conclusion the boy was actually working _with _Zabuza the whole time."

There was a few seconds in which Naruto just blinked at him as he registered the words in his mind. "So Zabuza's alive…-?" Kakashi nodded; there was a deadly silent pause… "**Baka no Ero-Sensei**-!" The blonde half-yelled, half-screamed heatedly, silently thanking any God who happened to be listening that his voice wasn't affected by his exhaustion, "You're supposed to be a Jounin, aren't you?-! How can you not know a fake Hunter-nin from a real one?-!"

'_Ouch…'_ Kakashi mentally winced, _'Touché…'_

After Naruto calmed down a bit, Kakashi addressed his bed-ridden student once more, his voice complete with the air of explaining something very simple to a five-year-old. "If I took on the Hunter-nin with the low level of chakra that I had, I would most definitely have lost. So in order to preserve your lives, I've decided to let him go for now." Naruto growled stubbornly, realizing he had lost the petty little disagreement between him and his sensei.

'_Ero-Kakashi-sensei…'_ Naruto sighed inwardly, _'Oh well, it can't be helped now, I guess… Besides, I have a feeling we'll all meet again sooner or later… and this time Zabuza won't get out of there alive!'_

"There's one thing I don't understand, though…" Sakura spoke up this time, surprising everyone. All eyes turned to her expectantly. "If the Hunter-nin was siding with Zabuza, why didn't he kill Naruto, instead of telling us where he was?"

Everyone was silent at that, before Naruto spoke again. "The Hunter-nin found me?"

"Hai," Kakashi continued once more. "Just before he took away Zabuza's 'body', he told us that you were in the woods. I went in, found you, and brought you here."

'_Ano… could he be the one I spotted before the battle? I wonder why he didn't kill me when he could've easily done so back then.'_

"_**Have you forgot about **_**me**_**?-! I'm right here, you know! Even though he could've killed your pathetic ass, I wouldn't have let him kill the most powerful of all Bijuu, Sekimusha no Kyuubi no Kitsune!"**_

"_Well… your powerfulness… your wondrous ass—"_

"_**Damn straight it is!"**_

"—_is stuck within _my_ pathetic ass and your oh-so-great immortal life is determined by my pitiable mortal one, thus making you a mortal as well… so much for being 'the-most-powerful-of-all-Bijuu-Sekimusha-no-Kyuubi-no-Kitsune'."_

"_**Touché, Kit…" **_There came a blow to the Kyuubi's pride and massive ego, not for the first time and definitely not for the last.

"So…" Naruto said out loud, "What are we going to do about it?"

Sasuke and Sakura both exchanged glances, shrugging in unison, before all three Genin turned to their sensei. Kakashi held Naruto in a stern gaze. "Well, _we _aren't going to do anything, Naruto. _You _are going get some rest until your chakra exhaustion has dissipated, while _I_ train your team mates." Naruto looked annoyed at this turn of events, and opened his mouth to argue. Kakashi held up his hand, stopping him. "No 'buts', Naruto. Don't worry; you should be better in a few days. At best, I'd give us a week until Zabuza returns, so once you're rested enough, you'll be training as well."

Naruto paused for a few minutes, trying to come up with the best dispute to answer with. All he could manage was a disgruntled "…humph!" and a frown.

Kakashi just smiled beneath his mask, "Now, get some rest, Naruto."

Without another word, the three of them stood up and left.

------

"_Yo, kitsune-teme! Hurry up and heal me already! I need to train to kill that bastard!"_ His 'endless' hyperactive energy was taking toll on his still body. He needed to do something physical and tiring… he needed to do something **now**.

"_**Healing you takes time, Kit, so don't be so impatient or I'll keep your ungrateful ass immobile for the rest of the mission and then some!"**_

'_Teme no Musha…'_ Naruto scowled at the prospect of not being able to move for a whole week or more.

The Kyuubi's voice butted into his thoughts suddenly – but not all that unexpectedly._** "I heard that, Kit!"**_

"_Oi, Sekimusha!" _Naruto whined pitifully,_ "__Get__out__of__my__thoughts__!"_

"_**Hmm… I'll have to think about that one."**_

'_Kami help me!' _If Naruto had the strength to move at all, he would have slapped his head in exasperation. But, as it was, he would just have to settle for a mental slap instead. _'My kingdom for some privacy…!'_

"_**Er… You don't have a kingdom, Kit…"**_

"_Godammit, Musha!" _Naruto exploded,_ "Have you never heard of a __**figure of speech**__?-!"_

"_**Vaguely…" **_He could clearly hear the amused sarcasm in his growling voice.

Naruto whimpered slightly,_ 'Kami! My tenant for some privacy…-!'_

"_**By 'tenant' you wouldn't mean **_**me**_**, would you, Kit?"**_

"_Never, Musha, never…" _Naruto didn't even dare to think 'yes' in fear of a massive headache, caused by said tenant.

Meanwhile, in a small clearing not that far away was the rest of Konoha's Team 7…

Kakashi looked at them both and smiled cheerily, "Today, we are going to climb trees!" Slightly stunned by the sheer simplicity in which he said it, the two Genin just blinked dumbly.

"Tree climbing?" Sakura asked bluntly after a minute, "But _anyone _could do that!"

"Hn." Kakashi took that for Sasuke agreeing with Sakura. His eye upturned as he smiled brightly once more at them.

"Let me rephrase my explanation!" He said, holding up his hands in a gesture that showed that air of talking to one very slow or stupid – one would assume he was talking to Naruto. "Today, you are going to climb trees _without_ the use of your hands."

"But–But sensei!" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief, "That's… that's _impossible_!"

Kakashi just laughed quietly to himself, enjoying her comic facial expression, "That's why we're going to use _chakra_!" He made it sound so… obvious. Without the slightest bit of effort of any sort, the Jounin causally walked up the tree, reading his orange book along the way.

The kunoichi blinked a few times, stunned by what she was seeing, "Demo, you're not using your hands!" Kakashi only chuckled in response, hanging upside down from the branch, his eye still fixated upon his smutty novel.

"Hn…" Sasuke sighed. This was going to be a long day…

------

Naruto sighed sadly as he stared at the ceiling. He was restless and bored beyond belief, with nothing to do but lay there and sleep. His pent up energy was building up fast. When he was finally able to move properly again, who knows what would happen to the poor people of Wave Country as all his hyperactive-ness was released? The blonde lay there for hours, his mind wandering in and out of a conscious haze, when suddenly the quiet creaking of a door punctured his dazed half-slumber.

Glancing towards the door, he saw that it had indeed been opened. Standing behind it, peering cautiously in, was a small boy. He ventured inside and padded over to where Naruto lay, looking down at the bedridden boy.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked gruffly, too worn out to care if he sounded rude or not. The boy said nothing for a moment, then—

"You can't win against Gatou!" The boy exclaimed angrily, frustrated by Naruto's 'not caring' demeanor, "_No one_ can win against him…-!"

The blonde raised an eyebrow questionably, "No one? I don't believe that. There are _tons_ of people in this world that can kill a thug like him easily. I bet a Kage could kill him without even needing to open their eyes." The boy just blinked at him, flabbergasted. "What's your name, kid?"

After a moment of silence, he answered quietly. "…Inari."

Naruto surveyed Inari for a moment, seeing cloudy black eyes peer fearfully out from beneath the rim of his hat. Sighing, Naruto turned his head away, peering out of the window with a tired, hooded expression. "Why are you so scared of Gatou, kid? What did he do that was so terrifying?"

Naruto heard nothing for a few moments, until the clicking of a door. Turning back, the blonde realized that the young boy had gone.

Sighing, Naruto passed the rest of the time in his mindscape, playing mind-games with Musha – no pun intended. He was only stirred when a noise from 'outside' caught his attention. Twitching an eyelid open, Naruto's first realization was that it was now dark outside, with the moonlight streaming in through the window by his bed.

The second was that the noise that had 'woken' him was actually Sakura dropping a glass on the floor, for which she was at that moment cursing quietly while she mopped its spilled contents up with a rag. Naruto shifted slightly under the blanket, noting that the paralysis was wearing off a bit. The slight movement, however, caught Sakura's emerald eye, and she looked up.

"Naruto!" She gasped quietly, startled, "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Naruto opened his mouth to reply 'yes', but Sakura didn't wait for a reply. "I was just bringing you a drink to see if you were thirsty, but I saw you were asleep so I turned to go back out but I tripped and dropped the glass! I didn't mean to wake you–!"

"It's okay, Sakura…" Naruto uttered sleepily, wondering if he had actually nodded off in his shougi tournament with Musha. For a caged up demon with no hands to play with, that Kyuubi could really kick his ass. Wincing slightly, Naruto hesitantly moved his hands to push himself up.

"Ah—!" He gasped as a dull pain shot up his arms as they supported his weight. Sakura hastily moved to his side, unsure whether to help him sit up, or to push him back down. She settled for supporting his back with her hand as he sat up. "…Arigatou." He muttered, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. The blonde never realized that the simple action of sitting up would take so much effort. However, he could already feel Musha's chakra swirling in his veins, dimming the aches.

"Naruto… If you're up to it, there's food at the table, but I don't think you should walk just yet…"

Naruto silently blessed her for her hushed voice and thanked her for the out-of-character consideration. With a growling stomach, he was about to accept when his hand nudged something in his trouser pocket. He jumped slightly, which went unnoticed by the kunoichi, realizing that it was the small scroll from the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing. With a sort chuckle, he grinned at Sakura, "Domo, Sakura, but I think I'll just rest here…"

With a nod, she walked out of the room, Inner Sakura silently raging. **Damn Naruto! I go out of my way to offer him food and a drink, and he just turns it down! Sasuke-kun wouldn't have done that… **Naruto just stared at her back with an unreadable expression, practically predicting what was going through her head. However, more pressing matters where dividing his attention.

He pulled the small scroll from his pocket and rested it in his palm. _'I said to myself I'd open it when I to back to Konoha, but I'm too curious about it! Why would it be addressed to me, anyway? The only person who ever used to send me letters was…' _A sad frown flitted across his face for a second.

"_**Don't think about that, Kit. It wouldn't be from… **_**that**_**person, anyway… You know why."**_

"… _Shut it, Musha…"_

The Kyuubi couldn't help but notice the lack of fight in the blonde's usual comeback._**"Open it now, Kit, or Kami knows you'll be thinking about that incident for the rest of the mission."**_

After a minute, Naruto sighed. The Kyuubi was right… as usual. Sighing again, he broke the seal on the scroll and unraveled it. He began to read.

_Uzumaki Naruto._

_It's been fifteen years now, hasn't it? Fifteen years since you've been orphaned; fifteen years since you had the Kyuubi sealed within you… I've instructed Sarutobi very clearly to give this to you the day you turn fifteen. So, Happy Birthday, Naruto… I'm sorry that this one letter is partially the only present I'll ever give you. I just hope the words it holds make up for fifteen years of missed birthdays, and many more to come._

_You must been wondering who's writing to you, and why. It's I, Naruto… your father. No doubt, if you're as perceptive as your mother, you'll already have had a pretty good guess at who I am. I'm sorry to say that I'm the one who had no choice but to seal the Kyuubi into you. I gave you this horrible burden to bear. _

_The only way to defeat it was to seal it away. I want you to understand something, my son. You may think that I had no choice but to use you for the sealing and that thought may have been a comfort to you; but the truth is that I __did__ have a choice, Naruto. However, I chose you above the others, for the simple reason that I could never let another person's baby bear this heavy burden. _

_You are strong, Naruto; that is why I chose you. I know that you're strong enough to withstand everything that comes with a Jinchuuriki's life, and strong enough to walk the road that my regretted actions have laid out in front of you. I know this… I know this instinctively. You are the only one I trust to bear this burden tall and proud._

_I'm so sorry, son, for all the hardships you must've endured. Despite what I had first hoped when fate forced upon me this choice of action, I know that the villagers won't see you as anything but the Kyuubi's incarnate. I'm so sorry for the pain this sacrifice will undoubtedly have cost you. They are blind… too blind in their grief and anger. They were terrified when the Kyuubi came upon them and absolutely helpless when their loved ones were killed. These feelings… they needed someone to take those feelings out on… a scapegoat was exactly what they needed, and you were just there. You irrefutably already know that perhaps they will always need one. For that, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything… even though I know that words from a long dead man won't help at all._

_Even in death, your mother, the ever beautiful and feisty, tom boy Uzumaki Kushina, would kill me if she ever found out what I did to you. I'm absolutely, __positively__ sure of it – she cared about you that much. Perhaps she already knew what I was planning to do… She was like that. _

_She loved you a lot, did you know that? You were the whole world to her… to both of us. She fought to the end, as always… She was too badly injured. There were only two choices… two paths that were laid before her: save her and kill you or save you and kill her. Obviously, she chose to save her precious son._

_Naruto – that name, __your__ name – was given to you by yours truly. I got that name from the main character of one of Jiraiya's, my sensei's, books – even you mother thought it was a great idea. The 'Naruto' of that story never gave up, no matter how high the odds were against him. Have no worries, son, for even though your name does mean 'fishcake', that's not the meaning I want you to have. 'Maelstrom' is what I want you to be named, for it is what I believe you are – a powerful force of nature. Those who were dropped into the raging calamity would be dragged deep down towards the middle with absolutely no escape. You are powerful, Naruto, I'm sure of it, and I believe you could drag anything towards you - precious people, power, courage, and strength… However, I fear that it is both a blessing and a curse, for it could also throw powerful enemies your way. Be careful, and be safe, my son. _

_Please, Naruto, even if you must hate us for what we have done, we won't blame you; we could never blame you. Live on the way __you__ want to live, son. Don't let anyone control your life; don't let them destroy you. You are the master of yourself and no one else can ever match up to the job. Remember that. _

_Neither your mother, nor I, would hold grudge against you, even if you want to level Konoha to the ground. If it really came to that, then it must be their fault, and not yours. You can never do anything wrong in our eyes, for we weren't able to be there for you when you needed it. We have utterly no say in your rights and your wrongs. Just become stronger, son. No… become the strongest, son. Rise far above all your sufferings and hardship and show them all just who Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto is, for, no matter what, you are my sole heir… my beloved son._

_Above all, Naruto, remember this: _

_For eternity and beyond, we love you._

_Namikaze Minato, Yellow Flash._

_Konohagakure no Sato no Yondaime Hokage_

There was silence as a single tear landed upon the aging paper; followed by another, and another. He sat there for a long while, lost, and not really knowing what to do next. The words he had just read lingered in front of his eyes, even after the paper slid from his hand.

_We love you._

Naruto gulped back a lump forming in his throat as Sakura's laughter from the next room drifted in. The laughter stilled and silence once more washed over him. His breathing was ragged in his ears.

_I'm so sorry for the pain this sacrifice will undoubtedly have cost you._

Tears trailed down his face, making his whisker marks glisten in the light from the next room. He mouthed a name to the air – the sacrifice had cost him the only person who had ever befriended him; the pain was more than Minato could ever know.

After another moment, Naruto clambered unsteadily to his feet, unheeding the pain that shot through him and the protesting of his joints, wiping his eyes as he went, unconsciously picking up the letter. If Musha protested against him moving so soon, he didn't say a word. Naruto walked to the door and slid it open; he ignored the questioning faces that turned towards him.

"Naruto-baka! Where are you going?-!" Sakura's voice rang out as Naruto stumbled to the door. Turning back round, he smiled, hiding his bloodshot, puffy eyes in a grin so wide that it hurt.

"I just need some fresh air, don't worry!" Turning, he slipped quietly out into the night, his cerulean eyes briefly catching Kakashi's frowning gaze as he went. He still held the scroll in his hand.

Stumbling into the woods, he found himself collapsing at the base of a tree, out of sight from the glowing windows of the house.

Then, by the soft, pale light of the shining full moon, he cried. He placed all the feelings he had felt throughout those twelve years into his tears: his sadness, his suffering, his pain, his anger, his helplessness…

Everything…

And so he cried.

------

Later that night, when the rest of his team mates were sound asleep, Naruto crept back into the room where only hours ago, he had found out about his lineage.

His bed was closest to the window, yet the furthest from the door, meaning that he had to slip past his two team mates. Shutting the door behind him, Naruto suddenly froze when he looked straight up into the eye of his sensei. Kakashi sat on the window ledge, pausing in reading his favorite book by the light of the moon.

Their gaze held for a moment, before Naruto broke it and walked towards his bed on slightly unsteady feet. Kakashi said nothing about the letter, even though Naruto knew that he knew about it, and he knew that Naruto knew.

Lying down, Naruto shrugged the blanket up over his shoulders and turned his back to the Copy-nin, facing the prone figures of his sleeping team mates.

Drifting into a semi-awake state, Naruto soon forgot about the presence of his teacher as the letter once more played out across his eyes. He could remember every word… he doubted it was because of his photographic memory; some things you just couldn't forget.

Just before his exhausted mind shut down on him, a single sentence crossed his mind.

_Even if you must hate us for what we have done, we won't blame you…_

Did he hate them? …He didn't know.

_She fought to the end, as always…_

The Kyuubi had been the killer of his parents… the Kyuubi that was sealed inside him. From what Musha had first told him on their meeting long ago, Naruto knew that the Kyuubi and Sekimusha were two different demons… It wasn't Musha's fault.

Despite that, as Naruto drifted off to an exhausted sleep with a tired sigh, a small voice echoed in the back of his brain.

"_**I'm so sorry, Kit."**_

**------**

The next morning, Naruto stirred with the golden rays of the sun hitting his face from behind the window pane. A small groan was heard and the boy shifted a bit, curling into a ball beneath his blanket so that only his mop of sunshine hair could be seen, poking out of the top.

Somewhere in the room, a fly buzzed and the small bundle that was Naruto twitched once more as the incessant buzzing increased. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was the slice of air being cut, and a dull thud as a kunai embedded itself in the wall. Satisfied, Naruto's hand withdrew from the air as he snuggled contently under the covers, the annoying fly successfully silenced.

This time when the buzzing returned, Naruto woke blurrily and stuck his head out of the covers, glaring around, looking for the next fly to kill. Alas, he wasn't allowed to kill the annoying pink buzz that was his teammate, no matter how much he wished for it. Sakura walked through the door, still talking.

"Naruto! You've overslept _again_! Get up!" Her shrill voice pierced the air and in the distance, a few birds took flight… purely coincidental, of course.

Grunting in a perfect imitation of his male team mate, Naruto grudgingly obliged and made to get up as the kunoichi left back out the door after another dose of daily nagging. Briefly, Naruto wondered just exactly when he had overslept before.

Yawning widely, Naruto trudged to the kunai he had earlier hurled and yanked it out of the wall from its point of impact, thanking, not for the first time, whichever God that happened to be listening that Sakura just happened to be blind as a bat whenever it came to something other than her precious Sasuke-kun or whatever she wanted to do to gain said Uchiha's attention and/or anyone who wanted Sasuke's love as well.

Yawning once again, Naruto passed a weary hand over his face, only to pause when he found his cheeks were slightly damp.

'_Was I… crying in my sleep?'_

It seemed that in that moment, even as he thought it, the memories of the previous night broke through an invisible damn and flooded his mind. He remembered exactly why he had been crying.

'_So… It wasn't just a dream…-?'_

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he quickly rubbed the tear stain marks away from his face, changed his clothing and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

After he was finished, he made his way down to the living room where the others were gathered for breakfast, "Ohayou."

Kakashi raised his head from his orange book at the greeting and smiled, "Ohayou, Naruto. You're finally able to walk properly, I see." With another small smile, he turned to the other two Genin, "Sasuke, Sakura, I want you to show Naruto how to do the tree climbing exercise after breakfast."

There was a muttered 'hai' from Sakura, and a non-committal grunt from Sasuke. Kakashi smiled, his eye upturned in his pleasure. "Great!"

Naruto yawned widely and slumped into a seat at the table. _'Tree climbing? Not__** that**__ again! I've already done that, __**years **__ago!'_

"_**Stop complaining and just do it, kit. You knew that when you became a Genin, you would have to do-over all that you've learned—" **_

Naruto cut in, _"Is this going to be another 'you brought this on yourself' speech, Musha? Cause, you know, those are __really__ getting old."_

"_**Congratulations, Kit, you've just increased your weights by half."**_

"_Nani?-! By a half?-! That's 300 pounds!"_

"_**400."**_

"_What?"_

Calmly, the fox stated slowly,_** "Its 400 pounds, not 300,"**_ as if he was talking to a three-year-old.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before… —

"_Sekimusha!"_

"_**What?" **_The Fox asked 'innocently'. Naruto swore he could see the malicious grin spreading across the Demon's furry mug.

"Bastard."

A voice interrupted him. "What was that, Naruto?"

"Huh? Oh– crap!" In his head, the Kyuubi was roaring with laughter, batting his tails around the cage like a little child slamming its fists down into the floor in pure mirth. The whole cage shook.

"_**Naruto hadn't realized he'd said the last part out loud. As a result, Sakura and Sasuke were both looking at him like he had just announced he was going to convert to Gai-ism and start wearing green, orange and pink spandex – Yes, Kit, I said green, orange and pink – while swearing to Kakashi he would join a cult dedicated to the one, the only, Icha Icha Paradise!"**_

Naruto didn't know whether to scream in horror like a little sissy girl, or to sweat drop at the Bijuu's new found hobby of commentating his life at the most inopportune moments.

"_Err… Musha? Why did you just narrate that?"_

"_**None of your business, Kit…"**_

Naruto frowned inwardly, already getting slightly pissed off, and, by his books, it was way too early to be annoyed at the oh-so-great Bijuu no Ou. Just then, the blonde thought of the perfect payback. Had the Kyuubi seen the feral grin that spread over Naruto's face, he would've surely whimpered in fear. He chuckled mentally as he thought of what horror he could put Musha through. _"Hm… maybe I__** should**__ do that."_ He could picture Sekimusha's silted, ruby red eyes widening in shock and horror.

In his head, Naruto continued on loudly in the voice of Lee and Gai, _"Yosh! Everyone look over here! Tremble in awe at the sight of the ever so youthful Jinchuuriki of the youthful and great Kyuubi no Kitsune, Bijuu no ou-sama, wearing youthful green, orange and pink spandex and reading youthful Icha Icha Paradise books! Yosh! Everything is so youthful! That's it, my youthful tenant! I'm going to become the most youthful Hokage ever and command everyone to wear youthful green, orange and pink spandex and read youthful Icha Icha Paradise books! Yosh. I shall shower everyone in the springtime of youth!" _Naruto chuckled out loud, unaware that everyone in the room was once more looking at him like he was a crazy person.

"_Well, Bijuu no ou-sama, you want me to say that __**out loud**__?" _There was no reply from the other end, as Sekimusha was too shocked to speak. _"Sekimusha?"_ Once again, only silence answered the blonde._ "Sekimusha!"_Obliviously, the oh-so-great Bijuu no Ou was still too stunned._ "Oi, Sekimusha-!"_ Ah… he must be really taken aback._ "Sekimu—!"_

"_**Urusai! Don't you **_**dare**_** do that!" **_The Bijuu lord whimpered in self pity, before he began to talk to himself in a piteous manner._** "Oh, mercy! I would be cursed for life! A laughing stock of all the after-life, next-life, next-world and especially the underworld! I wouldn't be able to go anywhere without people laughing and pointing, whispering oh-so-loudly: 'There goes the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Bijuu King that his container forced to wear multi-coloured spandex and sing odes to the infamous Icha Icha Paradise everyday at sun rise and sunset, before he would have to plait his magnificent tails and prance about in fields of daisies, howling out at the sun and moon, like a demented wolf-creature!' Not even **_**I**_**, who killed almost the whole village of Konohagakure and took the lives of countless before that, deserve such fate as this!"**_

The blonde cut in somewhat nervously, _"Err… Musha? Calm down, okay? I never said I'd do all __**that**__." _

"_**Oh, wondrous Kit! Thank you! I can still retain my unrivaled beauty and self-esteem!"**_ Naruto could practically feel the fox puffing out his chest in pride.

"_More like 'retain your oversized ego, narcissism, and God-complex'." _Naruto's face spilt into a wide grin that, this time, really did have the great Kyuubi no Kitsune cowering and whimpering._ "On second thoughts, Musha, maybe I _will_ do that." _

Musha's girly scream could be heard echoing all around Nami no Kuni, despite the fact that he was sealed inside his very worst nightmare.

Outside of Naruto's mind, everyone had moved outside while Naruto sat there giggling to himself. At the sudden howl that rang through the air, they all jumped in fright and stood on alert with kunai in hand, fully prepared to meet whatever was causing the racket. After about fifteen minutes of tensed silence, they started to calm – a little – and put their kunai away.

The blonde, who came out at the same time the howl died away, looked at his team mates questionably, "What did I miss?"

------

The next few days passed without too many surprises, seeing as the Kyuubi was still curled up in a large fluffy ball in the corner of his cage, trying to rid himself of any mental scarring.

Naruto, on the other had, still brightened mysteriously whenever he got a reminder of the joyous event that morning; such words as 'Gai', 'spandex' and 'pink' come to mind. Whenever Naruto caught a sight of his team mate's neon pink hair, he would chuckle to himself quietly, which, it was safe to say, irritated said teammate phenomenally.

His mood heightened even more at the stunned looks on his team's faces when he 'mastered' the tree climbing test in only a few tries. Kakashi said it was probably due to his amazing teaching skills and tips. Naruto said it would be, if the tips were actually helpful, instead of consisting of 'Naruto, work on not falling flat on your face' or 'Naruto, for the last time, your butt is not a safety cushion for you to land on'.

His extremely weird – yet extremely good – mood, however, was cut short that night as something unexpected happened. After they had finished eating – all bowls empty, no mater how tired they were, they were all taken aback when the gloomy boy, Inari, suddenly started to cry. Naruto didn't make matters better by scoffing quietly at how childish he was – he was too tired and worn out to even care if he sounded harsh or not.

Of course, that was the wrong thing to say. The little boy slapped his hand on the table and stood up angrily.

"_Urusai_! You make me so _sick_! I've seen you train and train like there's_ nothing _else in the world you'd rather do – and look what it's doing to you! You come back tired and exhausted, but what makes me so _mad _is that you go out again and again even when there's no_ stupid _point! There's _absolutely_ no way you can beat Gatou! He'll _kill _you—!"

The blonde scowled, "Shut your mouth, _brat_, I'm not going to let him kill me! No _way_! I'm not some sorry excuse for a person who gives up at the first sign of defeat! I'm not like _you__—_!"

"_Shut up_! You _don't_ know a thing about me! You shouldn't talk like you know anything about this place at _all_—!"

"Oi—!" Naruto tried to interrupt, his face dropping into an angry frown.

"_Be quiet_! I'm_ not_ done yet! You just_ butt _in with your care-free happy-go-lucky attitude, as if _nothing_ could ever go wrong for you!" He drew a breath, tears streaming down his face. "I bet you_ don't even know_ what it's like to live in poverty! I bet you don't know what it's like to be _lonely_ and _suffer_! You don't know what it's like to have absolutely _no _friends, no father! I bet you've _never_ seen someone you care about tortured right in_ front _of you! In fact, you're so stupid and _naïve_, I bet you_ wouldn't _know they were _dead_, even if you saw it with your_ own two eyes_—!"

A chair was flung backwards as Naruto stood up abruptly, a face like thunder. His cerulean eyes turned crimson red with rage. It burned with a fire that rivaled the Kyuubi's in all his crazed, murderous glory. Large amount of killing intent rose quickly within the small room, making even the great Copycat Ninja, Kakashi, hold his breath. Naruto raised a fist as he leaned over the table and grabbed the boy by the shirt, forcing him to look straight into his eyes. His fists were trembling with pure fury. The mask of deception he was so proud of, especially for the fact that he had spent years perfecting and holding in place, was carelessly and quickly thrown aside by the boy's thoughtless words.

"_You_. _Know_. _Nothing_! Crybaby-brat!"

He hissed the words through his teeth, rage seething out of every syllable. His hand shook violently as he fought the urge to punch the boy in his sniveling face. The pent up emotions and energy did nothing to help repair the mask, instead they were breaking it at a very high pace. Naruto later doubted that even if he had regained control of himself right that second, he would have been unable to fix it in time to stop his team finding out. At the time, however, no such thought crossed his mind and all he could see was red.

"Now let **me** tell **you**! I bet you've never had to dig in the** trash** for** every single** damn thing that you needed just to survive! I bet you never had a time when you have absolutely **no one **to rely on! I bet you do not even know what is like to fight for your **life** just for the** lowest pieces **of **crap**! I bet you never had at least** thirty** **eight** assassination attempts made on you by the time you were** five**!"

Everyone in the room gasped in horror at this news. Kakashi couldn't help the small gape flittering across his face, and even Sasuke was shocked.

"I bet you were never anyone's scapegoat for something you can'teven **control**! I bet your **own ****father** was not someone who made your life a living** hell**! I bet that the **only **people who you have ever relied on were **not** mass murderers! I bet you never even had your first kill when you were **four**! Don't** ever** tell me that I have absolutely **no** clue what suffering it all about! It's **you** that doesn't have a clue! You** still **have your family behind you! There are **many **out there who have suffered even **more** than you ever did! The only one in our team that still has their whole family together is Sakura, so you've not only just pissed me off, but I bet you've insulted them as well! Unlike them, I bet you never had a father who committed** suicide** because of too much scorn and pressure from everyone else just because you made the **right decision**! I bet you never had someone, who you had always argued with, taking the** killing** blow for you and giving you his **bloodline limit—**!"

Kakashi's eyes widened, stunned that Naruto knew so much about him – especial classified information.

"—I bet you have never been taught the art of** killing **others at the age of **six**! I bet you never had an older brother that you **idolized **murdering your** whole** clan when you were just** six**, only leaving **you** alive and not even telling you what is going on—!"

Beneath the table, Sasuke's fists were clenched tightly in remembrance.

"I bet your village never had a rule that requires you to kill your friends andclassmates just to become a ninja! I bet you never had to go into hiding because of your bloodline limit that the village** treasured** when there was a war and **feared** when there wasn't one! Do you even **know **how many people died in the Bloody Mist because of** that**?-! Don't you even** dare** saying that you were the **only** one to suffer! There are lots of other people out there who have lived an even **worse **life then yours, and have **enough bloody courage** to still live it! Kami knows I've killed for less than this **shit **you're spewing!"

After a moment where everyone's breath was held, Naruto smacked his fist down on the table, before turning sharply on his heel and slamming the house door behind him, stalking out into the cool night air. Around the table, Inari just stood and cried, while everyone stared, shocked, at the door by which Naruto had just left. Everyone was silent, while Kakashi just stared after his blonde haired student, a bitter sort of remorse creeping up from where it had lain from twelve long years.

'_Somehow… I knew that was coming…'_

------

That night, many hours later, when everyone else was asleep, Naruto was still outside in the forest training – or rather, venting his anger and emotions on the poor environment around him.

'_Dammit!' _

A fist collided with the bark of the tree, splintering under his bruised knuckles. He wasn't angry at the kid – definitely not. It's not like the kid knew anything. No, he was even angrier at himself for letting his mask fall. For fall it did. It may not have shattered, but it damn well had some cracks in it.

'_Dammit!'_

"_**Calm down, Kit! You're going to hurt yourself if you keep punching the tree like that!"**_

"_I don't care, you damn fox! They'll find out! And then the whole village will know, and it'll be worse than before!"_

"_**Kit, you're overreacting! It can't be that bad...-!"**_

Naruto growled out in annoyance, eyes angry and hurt._"Gomen, Musha, but were you there?-! Iie! You weren't! When I needed you to calm me down so I didn't slip, you were to busy sleeping! I'm sorry if you didn't get any rest all the other hours of the day for the twelve whole years you've been caged in there!"_

"…"

Whipping out a kunai, he started slashing at the tree without a care, pummeling it and kicking at it with more careless skill than anyone could have thought possible from him. He didn't care right now. He just swore and cursed at his own foolishness.

"**Dammit**!"

His kunai was cast aside with a jerk of his arm and it spiraled off into the forest, embedding itself in a tree behind him. With all his might, he slammed his fist into the tree; a loud splintering crack was heard. He felt something break… and not just his hand.

With a strangled sob, he fell back onto the ground, clutching his hand to him. He barely felt the slight tingling of Musha's chakra as it began to heal his bleeding hand. Instead, he was overcome with a tiredness he hadn't felt since his days living out on the street, long before he'd ever been shown his first apartment and an act of kindness.

With a sigh, he gave up on staying awake and slumped back into the cold grass, cerulean eyes already glazing over with the long-overdue rest he felt he didn't deserve.

Unbeknownst to him, it was Musha's chakra which made him fall asleep. As his eyes dragged closed, he heard a small whisper from the back of his mind.

"_**You need rest, kit. Sleep well, I'll watch over you."**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	7. Escaping The Mist

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

**

* * *

**

**A Fox's Deception  
_Escaping the Mist_**

The sweet sound of birds singing rippled through the trees as dawn streaked the horizon, the swirling pink clouds not yet visible from within the forest. In the clearing where he had collapsed the night before, Naruto awoke with a groan as a small beam of the sun's rays split the canopy above him and washed his face in sunlight.

Glaring up at the light, his arm rose up to block its glare from his twin cerulean orbs. The blonde then dazedly rolled over, his back to the light, muttering about how it was still too early to get up. A few moments later, he blinked as his brain finally registered the sweet smell of the fresh green grass pressed to his nose. Naruto rolled over, sat up and looked around at his surroundings. He was still in the forest from the night before.

Cursing the Kyuubi for making him sleep in the forest, he unsteadily got up to his feet, only slightly off balance due to his stiff limbs brought about from lying on the hard ground all night. The blonde cursed again, louder this time, as memories of the events from the night before resurfaced in his mind, answering the question of why he was in a forest in the first place.

"You shouldn't curse." A soft voice sounded behind him.

Naruto quickly span on his heels, caught by surprise as the person startled him from his bitter thoughts. There, in front of him, stood a very feminine boy, probably just a year or two older, with a basket of herbs in hand. At first glance, pretty much everyone would mistake him for being a female.

He had long, ink black hair which hung loosely around his shoulders and dropped down his back, framing his womanly face nicely. The teen was wearing a pink kimono, decorated with small flowers. If it wasn't for his good sense of smell, Naruto would also have definitely mistaken him for a female.

In that instant, the blonde noticed something very important. _'He has traces of Momochi Zabuza's scent with his… so he must've been contact with him recently. Also, it's the scent which I smelt during the battle. Could it be that he is the hunter-nin that Kaka-sensei is talking about?'_

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, how about you?" He asked, putting on a bright, cheery smile.

The other boy smiled softly, "I'm Haku." Kneeling, Haku began to pick at the grass. Intrigued, Naruto leaned forwards, before realizing that they were herbs. Haku's soft voice broke through the silence. "You are a ninja, are you not?"

Naruto nodded eccentrically, pointing to his hitai-ate, "See, this is my forehead protector! It shows that I'm a ninja from Konohagakure no Sato!"

Haku laughed good-naturedly at his enthusiasm. Naruto grinned back, before cocking his head to the side. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The boy smiled. "I'm gathering herbs."

"Oh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, before lowering his arm. "…Need some help?"

"Sure." Haku said, smiling again. "But make sure to pick the right ones!"

They sat in content silence for a while, Naruto humming under his breath, picking herbs and placing them in Haku's basket, lying by their side. Reaching up, Haku tugged a few stray strands of raven hair behind his ear. Out of a paranoid habit, Naruto swiftly tracked the movement without the other teen's notice.

With his sharp eyesight, he noticed the other teen's calloused, slender fingers._ 'From throwing senbon,' _the blonde noted automatically. He stopped humming. There was a short silence – awkward only on Naruto's end.

"Hey, Naruto…" started Haku after a minute, laying aside his herbs.

The blonde glanced up at the brunette curiously, "What is it?"

"Do you… Do you have any precious people?"

Naruto frowned. "Precious people…?"

"Precious people," The elder explained, "Are people who you would protect with your life."

"Oh." There was a pause of a heartbeat, in which images flashed before Naruto's eyes before fading away. Slowly, he nodded, "Yeah, I do… I have seven of them." He smiled to himself as he remembered them. Elaborating, he turned his cheerful features to Haku, who smiled back.

"One of them is an S-rank missing-nin. People don't like him a lot because he killed his own family without any remorse, but he's really not that bad once you get to know him… The next one is really powerful and well-respected – when I grow up, I want to be as powerful and respected as him! …And I make sure everyone knows it!" Naruto gave out a cheeky fox grin before continuing. "My third person… well… I wouldn't really call him _precious_… It's more like a mutual friendship. He destroyed countless villages and killed many… including the only people who ever really loved me, before I even knew them…"

There was a slight pause, in which Naruto's eyes shifted and took upon a far-away look. Before Haku could comment, however, his face reverted back into a blazing grin. "—That, and he can kick my ass at shougi any day! I always forgive him for it at the next rematch, though." From the back of his mind, Naruto heard the noble beast shift slightly and sneeze in his undisrupted slumber.

"—Then there's also a very kind Chuunin – but he's scary once you get him angry! And, of course, the owners of a very good ramen stand – I probably would've died of starvation when I was younger, had it not been for them! Last…—" Naruto cut himself off, the grin slowly sliding from his face to take up a melancholic aura. Lowering his head, he resumed picking the herbs. There was a heartbeat of silence, until—

"That was only six people, Naruto-kun…" Haku prodded gently. "I thought you said there was seven."

Naruto didn't look up, but his hands paused in their busy movements. "Yeah… but…" He swallowed softly. "The last person… was my best friend."

"Was?"

"Yeah… she's…dead. She died a long… long time ago."

Haku let out a soft breath. "I'm sorry." He said. Naruto looked up and gave a weak sort-of smile, before his face suddenly snapped back into his naïve curiosity look.

He tilted his head a little, "Hey, Haku, is your precious person the one you are gathering herbs for?"

"Hai…" The boy answered, smiling back, knowing that the subject needed changing. "He got injured quite badly recently from a fight."

"Who did he fight with?"

"Oh… some… just some people that are quite powerful."

Naruto grinned good-naturedly, "I hope he gets better soon. It'd be amazingly cool to fight with really strong people!"

"Yeah…" Haku trailed off, a hand sliding stealthily into his pocket, clasping silently around a senbon needle. If this boy knew who he really was…-!

Naruto pretended not to notice Haku's small movement. So he _was_ the hunter-nin… That meant that he would be there when Zabuza faced them again… Try as he might, Naruto just couldn't seem to find any hatred in himself towards the boy. Could he really bring himself to end the life of this boy… this boy with the same lonely eyes as he?

The blonde could see the buried pain clearly within those chestnut brown orbs, for, in the past, he had seen it many times within his own. Those who have suffered from loneliness, especially for a long time, can never really forget it, not even if they aren't alone anymore. Although that terrible feeling can often get pushed aside by other emotions, it still remains etched deep within their soul, buried behind shielded eyes as a mental scar, never to be erased. Sometimes, if a little, lonely kid is lucky, then they can see their pain shared clearly in the eyes of others… and then they know that they aren't alone.

The real question Naruto found himself facing was could he really kill Haku…-?

'_Yes, I must…-!' _Naruto thought, slightly desperate. _'He's with Zabuza…-! But… But he hasn't done anything wrong to us…Not like Zabuza… He's not… guilty…' _Could he really kill Haku when the time came? Could he really kill the boy with his obvious innocence?

After a short moment of silence, the blonde spoke up again, eyes fixed solely upon the ground, where he picked at the herbs distractedly. "Hey, Haku?"

"Hai…?" Haku's grip tightened on the senbon unconsciously.

"Can we become friends?" The request was sudden, and Haku's eyes widened fractionally before his face settled into an unreadable manner. Naruto ignored the blank look and continued sheepishly, "If we are, then we could have one more precious person…" Naruto smiled timidly up at the older boy, "I could introduce you to my precious people and we can all be friends!"

'_I _so_ deserve an acting-medal for this!' _Naruto thought, mentally grinning in pride and hidden relief. _'If he agrees, then I won't need to kill him later… just Zabuza. After all, by Konoha law,_ he's _done nothing wrong as it was Zabuza who attacked us… I don't like killing innocent people.'_

Of all the times for Naruto's ethical, epithetical mind to kick in, it chose now. It came in the form of a little voice in the back of his head, contradicting his motives and springing guilt upon him in iron-clad morality. _'That may be true… But if you're going to kill the boy's only precious person in the whole world, wouldn't it be kinder to kill him too? A person should only experience true loneliness only once in their life… if ever at all. Just because he's innocent, is it really right to send the boy down a self-destructive path of no return?'_

Mentally cursing and wondering just when he even started_ thinking_ to himself –skipping right past the milestone of talking to himself–, Naruto decided that, in the end, it came down to Haku's answer. If it was no, Naruto would have no choice but to kill him along with his master in the foreshadowing battle… If it was yes, then perhaps Naruto and his friends could help replace Haku's precious person.

Unconsciously, Naruto held his breath. Did Haku even know that his very life rested on the metaphorical knife-edge soon to be created by one little word?

All the while, Haku looked at him but didn't answer. The blonde didn't push, knowing that there was an inner conflict that the brunette needed to battle, perhaps with equally distressing odds of Naruto's own conflict just seconds ago.

After a short while of picking herbs in silence, Haku finally answered, "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but there is something important that my master – my precious person – and I need to sort out… Maybe after that, if you make your offer again…—"

Tightening his grip on his mask, Naruto nodded, smiling widely, and finished Haku's sentence. "—then we'll see!"

They both laughed, but Naruto kept his eyes screwed tight in a grin, hiding the sadness within. _'So… you have chosen death.'_ Naruto smiled again, opening his eyes.

As for Haku, despite what he said about 'maybe after', he knew that there would be no 'after' for one of them – whether it was the case for Naruto or him… it depended on who killed who. With a small sigh and false smiles on both sides, Haku stood and excused himself.

Naruto smiled and waved goodbye as Haku's parting words floated back on the wind. "We'll meet again, Naruto-kun."

As Haku slipped out of sight, the cheery smile quickly faded from Naruto's face to be replaced by a sad, almost melancholic look. _'You chose death over loneliness… I wonder, Haku… Did you know exactly what I was planning to do on your answer? Did you know that you were sealing your fate? Because I believe that for you, perhaps it was the right choice.'_

Naruto's eyes drifted closed and his face turned upward in the light breeze.

'_Had I been in your shoes, I would have chosen death too.'_

Sekimusha stayed silent as he watched his host interact with his friend, soon to be his enemy. Both demon and host knew that it would be very hard for Naruto to kill Haku, as both the ninja shared one thing in common – the soul-crushing experience of true loneliness. Maybe, if it was different, then the upcoming tragedy might never have to happen. Alas, the fates were not that kind.

"Dobe!"

The voice, arrogant and impatient, broke into Naruto's stupefied thoughts. Schooling his features, Naruto turned around with his annoyed, naïve frown placed upon his brow, knowing who would be behind him. As predicated, it was the one and only Uchiha Sasuke.

"Dobe, do you miss breakfast often or something?" The brunette stopped in front of him, arms folded after conking the blonde hard on the head.

Rubbing the forming bump, Naruto scowled as if nothing was wrong, and that he hadn't just decided to kill an innocent, friendly teen. "Damn teme!"

Sasuke frowned. Naruto inwardly blanched. Had he let his mask slip a notch, or was it just his imagination running wild as memories from the – very public – argument the previous night slipped into his head. Did Sasuke know about his mask, or did he just put it down to Naruto having some kind of weird male PMS fit?

They stayed silent for a moment, and Naruto started to fear the worst. If Sasuke – _Uchiha__ Fucking_ _Sasuke__ of all people –_ knew…-!

"Let's go." At the simple, unrevealing, statement, Sasuke turned on his heel and left, leaving Naruto to follow after with his messed-up thoughts.

Naruto let himself breathe a small sigh of relief, releasing the breath he has been holding. Maybe Sasuke _didn't_ know.

Then again, as he had turned away, Naruto feared he had caught a glimpse of a single emotion flash through icy onyx eyes.

…Sympathy.

------

Soon enough, the much-dreaded day arrived, to the blonde's great displeasure. That night, he twisted and turned as a million thoughts ran through his head, giving him no piece of rest.

It was almost dawn when sleep finally claimed him. So exhausted was he, that he simply would not wake the next morning, no matter how hard the pink-haired kunoichi tried to rouse him. In the end, the rest of Team 7 gave up and left him at the house with Tsunami and Inari.

As the four of them neared the misty bridge, the scent of blood found its way to Kakashi's sharp nose, making him tense suddenly and put away his orange book of smut. However, no one else noticed his actions as he was bringing up the rear, and didn't say a word.

"A demon! It's a demon!"

A terrified voice pierced through the thick fog, stopping the ninja and the bridge builder in their tracks. A high-pitched, painful scream was heard before it was abruptly cut off, followed by the sickening sound of a sword tearing flesh and flesh thudding to the ground with a sickening squelch.

Shakily, defensive stances were taken by the Genin. The Jounin, however, was completely 'relaxed'. Only a skilled observation-ist could see how his muscles tensed ever-so-slightly in anticipation of the forthcoming fight.

A few seconds later, the mist before them lifted, showing them the carnage that lay upon the unfinished bridge. Missing limbs and pieces of bloodied flesh and torsos were flung all over the crimson-stained structure; blood was splattered everywhere. The metallic scent of the life-giving liquid, no longer held in by the dense fog, rushed to meet their senses.

Green flooded Sakura and Tazuna's faces as they grimaced at the scene fearfully, wanting to barf, but finding their stomachs void of food. Sasuke's onyx black eyes darted back and forth in anticipation, trying to find the murderer to no avail. The four of them had quickly formed a defense formation, back-to-back.

Behind them all, Kakashi whipped out a kunai as they mist surrounded them once again, covering their sights.

"Kaka-sensei, is this…-? Is this the Kirigakure no Jutsu?" Sakura asked timidly, her voice wavering nervously.

Kakashi was just about to answer, when Zabuza's voice cut suddenly through the mist, "Long time no see, Kakashi. I notice you're still with those brats…" There was a chuckle of low, cruel laughter. "He's shaking again… Poor kid…" He was referring to Sasuke in a mocking tone. The Uchiha's eyebrow twitched slightly. Within a heartbeat, Tazuna and the ninja quickly found themselves surrounded by Zabuza's clones.

Sasuke smirked delightfully at the presented challenge, "I'm shaking from _excitement_."

Kakashi smiled at the boy, "Do it, Sasuke."

The next second, a loud splash hit the air as all the water clones fell apart in torrents; all to the courtesy of the Uchiha.

'_You can't fool me,'_ The raven-haired boy thought triumphantly.

An amused voice sounded behind them. "Hm… He saw through the water clones. The brat has grown." Turning round swiftly, they found Zabuza standing with the masked hunter-nin. The mist-nin continued, nonchalant, "It looks like a rival has appeared, eh, Haku?"

His companion nodded stoically, "It does indeed."

Suddenly, in one swift movement, Haku was in front of Sasuke. Several senbon were clutched in his hand. The masked ninja brought his hand down in a smooth backhand. There was a loud clang.

Sasuke parried the blow with his own kunai. He smirked triumphantly. "Now that your hand's blocked, you can't do any seals."

To the Konoha-nin's surprise, a bitter-tainted laugh echoed behind the emotionless porcelain mask. "Quite the contrary," Haku's voice issued calmly from the white barrier, "You have a great deal more to learn."

Sasuke scowled, but his eyes widened in shock as Haku started to form one-handed seals. "Nani?-!"

Nearby, Kakashi felt his own surprise creep up on him. _'One handed seals…I haven't seen anyone use those in a long, long time. Not since I was on ANBU-rank missions… A kid like that shouldn't be able to know how to do them!' _His visible eye narrowed. _'He must be somewhere near Jounin level at least…'_

The masked brunette suddenly stomped the ground, making the scattered water fly up into the air. As fast as the water left the ground, it was just as quick as it hardened into hundreds of ice needles. The needles hung frozen in the air, poised for an attack.

"You can match my speed and block me…" Haku started. "But can you dodge quickly as well?"

Somewhere else, back at Tazuna's home, two samurais smashed through the front door. There came a short, surprised scream, and the samurai's attention was drawn to Tsunami, who was setting the table at that time.

The first samurai raised an eyebrow noncommittally, and asked, "Are you Tazuna's daughter?" Without even waiting for an answer, he continued, "Sorry, but you're coming with us." However, his tone of voice suggested that he wasn't sorry at all.

Washing his hands in the bathroom at the time, Inari heard his mother's terrified scream and quickly rushed out into the living room, "Mom!"

Samurai number two looked around at the voice. "What, kid?" He questioned nonchalantly.

Tsunami yelled urgently from the ground, "Run away! Don't come here!"

The two samurai didn't heed her cries, while Inari just stood there, completely shocked and shaking in fright.

"Should we take him with us?" came the obvious question from Samurai Two.

"We only need one hostage," Samurai One replied.

'_Hostage?-!' _thought the boy, scared.

Samurai Two grinned manically as he started to unsheathe his katana, "Then…" he chuckled, "Should I kill him?"

"Wait!" exclaimed Tsunami, who was momentarily forgotten, alarmed, making everyone turn to look at her. "You want a hostage, right?-! If you touch that child, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself!"

There was moment of complete silence, where Inari just stood there behind the doorframe, shaking, and the samurai turned to his mother. With a sigh, seeing she was being adamantly serious, the first samurai glanced back over his shoulder at the tearful Inari, "Thank your mom, kid."

"Damn!" complained the second samurai, "I wanted to cut something!"

From behind the door frame, the boy curled up and began to cry as his mother was being taken away, _'I'm so sorry, mom. I'm just too weak…'_

"_There are lots of other people out there who have lived an even __**worse **__life then yours, and have __**enough bloody courage**__ to still live it!"_

Inari's tears stopped as Naruto's angry voice echoed through his mind. Voices of his father, his mother, his grandfather and the Konoha-nin's speed through soon after.

Taking courage, he quickly wiped his tears and stood up, fist clenched by his sides. He inhaled deeply, calming himself down as he exhaled. Then suddenly, without warning, he rushed out of the house, running after his mother and the two samurais.

Momentarily forgotten, Naruto had watched everything play out from the shadows, having been wakened by Tsunami's cry. As the samurai left the house, the blonde frowned.

'_This must be Gatou's work. I don't believe for a second that Zabuza or Haku would do something as cowardly as taking hostages.'_

With a harried sigh, he sent three clones after Inari, before running towards the bridge where his comrades were already fighting.

------

When Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki got there, he saw thick mist covering the entire structure. The only sounds he could hear were that of the clash of weapons. Whipping his own kunai from his pouch, he crept onto the bridge, melding with the mist.

The first people he came across were Tazuna and Sakura. Naturally, the former was being protected by the latter and not the other way around, but the kunoichi didn't currently seem like a good shield at all; she was shaking like a leaf with a kunai in hand. Sure enough, Naruto knew better than to reveal his position so early into the fight, but it still took all of his willpower to not just go right up to Sakura and shout "Boo!" straight into her ear and see what her reaction would be. He still silently chuckled at the thought, though.

The next person he came across was Kakashi. The scarecrow stood alone in the middle of the bridge, his chakra and killing intent spiking so much that Naruto was actually slightly intimidated. Naruto came to a stop a few feet away from Kakashi, still hidden within the mist.

For a moment, all was still, and Naruto was about to deem it safe and speak up to Kakashi, when Kakashi suddenly spoke up, seemingly to the mist. "You know, Zabuza, just because Haku has Sasuke trapped, doesn't mean that this fight is as good as over."

A voice echoed from the mist in reply, and the grip Naruto had on his kunai tightened. "You make is sound like the brat stands a chance; like all your brats have a chance." Zabuza's voice was punctured by his own chuckles. "What makes you so confident, Kakashi no Sharingan? The fools are just Genin, and you yourself are getting slow and rusty."

Unknown to anyone but the masked ninja himself, Kakashi was smiling beneath his mask. "It's true that it has been quite some time since I faced anyone of your status, Zabuza… But it'd do well to not underestimate my Genin. After all, Sakura _is_ the smartest kunoichi in her class. And as for Sasuke, he's the top rookie of his year, and belongs to one of Konoha's most prestigious clans – the Uchiha…" There was a brief silence from the other side, making Kakashi force a chuckle of his own. "Are you telling me the Haku has never faced a real Uchiha before, Zabuza? After all, my secondhand eye just can't quite match up to those of the _real_ bloodline…"

Within the mist, Naruto raised an eyebrow skeptically. _'Way to go, Kakashi, hardly a _big_ lie, but there's just the _teensy weensy_ problem that Sasuke hasn't even _obtained_ his Sharingan yet. Fat lot of good it'll help to just brag to Zabuza about it.'_ Just then, memories came rushing into his mind, obviously from the three Kage Bunshin he left behind. _'Good, they're both okay. Now I get to _really_ pay attention to the fight.'_

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi once more, the Hatake still not done with his bragging.

"You may think I'm getting old and rusty, Zabuza, but I still know ways of finding out things…" Kakashi trailed off mysteriously, and this time, Zabuza's voice once more emerged from the fog.

"Like what, Kakashi? Are you telling me that your Sharingan can read my mind? I've already told you how you tricked me last time. The same trick won't work on my twice."

Kakashi smiled craftily, and he shifted in his stance. "No, Zabuza, you're mistaken. You see, this has absolutely_ nothing_ to do with my Sharingan. It's just plain common sense and intellect. I know that your silence wasn't because you feared for Haku's safety; you said he was even _stronger_ than you. You were silent because if it dawned on you that if Sasuke was good, what would that make Naruto?"

From the sidelines, Naruto's eyebrows shot up into his hair, and he looked at Kakashi, surprised and intrigued. _'What are you getting at, you perverted scarecrow?'_

It seemed that Zabuza was thinking along the same lines as Naruto, for he too questioned Kakashi's words. "What are you implying, Hatake?" There was a suspicion in his voice that made Kakashi smile all the more.

"Oh, it's nothing really, Zabuza… It's just that, well, you've seen Naruto in action. You've probably even had Haku spying on him. You know that Naruto's stronger than Sasuke. What you fear is that if Sasuke is as good as I've just said, then just think how good Naruto is…"

Naruto almost laughed out loud. Kakashi knew for a fact that Naruto wasn't as good as the Jounin was implying. But hey, the blonde certainly wasn't complaining; plus, Zabuza was falling for it hook, line and sinker. Naruto suppressed a grin. _'You're lying through your teeth, you perverted old man…'_

"…And just _how_ good is he, Kakashi? I doubt he could beat Haku."

"Ah," Kakashi grinned, "Now, Zabuza, are you sure you want to know? It's quite an interesting story…"

Naruto sweat dropped and couldn't resist miming applause._ 'Bravo, Kakashi, draw him in! When you're old and grey… well, older and greyer than you are now… you'll probably be one of those old senile veterans who'll insist on telling people about 'the good ol' days'. Nobody will listen of course, and you'll probably die alone in your house with only your perverted smut for company; but hey! Someone will be sure to say one day 'Hey, whatever happened to that old scarecrow with the mad stories?' and then someone else will say, 'Yeah, I remember him. Turned out all his stories were just a pocketful of lies… Those stories were interesting, though… I almost miss them.' But who cares, no one could say you weren't a smooth talker.' _

"_**Kit, just shut up and listen, honestly, Kakashi could've told him the story and killed him by now, and you wouldn't have noticed. At this rate, **_**you'll**_** be the one with the senile old stories."**_

At Musha's interruption, Naruto pouted mentally, but turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"You see, Zabuza, you may think that Naruto's just a clumsy, idiotic, nameless kid with a hoard of luck, who got where he is by hard work alone… And you'd be mostly right."

'_Wow, what a fact-changing story, you scarecrow…'_

"_**Kit!"**_

"_Sorry…"_

"Just where is this going, Kakashi?" Zabuza was getting impatient now, and the sound of flying senbon striking soft flesh and cement could clearly be heard by Naruto's sensitive ears.

"You see, Zabuza," Kakashi carried on, "Naruto may be clumsy and idiotic… but he's not nameless." There came another 'dramatic' pause, and Zabuza was once more silent. "Naruto's last name, Zabuza, is _Namikaze_."

At that statement, Naruto's eyes widened in shock, _'Kakashi knows…' _He'd suspected it, but to find out that he actually knew…

"Actually," The scarecrow carried on, "He's Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto; son of _Yondaime Hokage_." Zabuza was probably frozen within the mist. Kakashi smiled triumphantly beneath his mask. "And yes, he got where he is by hard work alone, but that doesn't mean that he won't know a few of his family's old tricks. Do you still believe, Zabuza, that he's just got luck on his side?"

There was no reply from the missing-nin.

"Do you still believe that Haku could beat him, especially as he's having a rough time with Sasuke?"

Once again, Zabuza stayed silent.

"Of course, what I've just told you is an S-classed secret, Zabuza." Kakashi smiled. "If you leaked it to anyone, Naruto's life would be in danger, not to mention everyone else's. Do you know why I've just told you it?" A pause. "It's because, Zabuza, you're not going to tell anyone…" The cheery smile slipped from Kakashi's face. "You're going to die here. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

"Of course." With a small laugh, Naruto dissolved out of the mist, standing right beside Kakashi. Zabuza was silent in the fog, and Naruto took the chance to whisper to Kakashi. "You knew I was there all along, Ero-sensei…"

The Hatake smiled, "Naturally. I'm not as rusty as Zabuza believes, you know." Naruto just raised an eyebrow in response. Kakashi sweat dropped after a moment, and shrugged sheepishly. "Okay, so if you hadn't shown yourself, I would've looked like a complete idiot… Happy now?"

Naruto nodded, before pouting moodily. "You're going to shove me over to Sasuke-teme now, aren't you?"

"Yup!"

'_His voice was just too cheery for his own damn good.'_ Naruto scowled and disappeared into the mist once again, leaving behind a mutter of "Damn pervert…"

Kakashi chuckled before turning back to Zabuza and flicking a scroll from his pocket. "Now, Zabuza, Naruto and Sasuke will finish off Haku in a matter of minutes, so would you rather face them, or me…-?" There was no reply, which made Kakashi smile as he took up a stance. "We're both busy people, Zabuza, so let me show that this scarecrow isn't as 'rusty' as you think…"

------

"Yo, Sasuke! Haku!"

Both ninjas stopped in the middle of their attacks to stare at the blonde who was waving merrily from the outside.

"How are you guys doing in there? It's seems really cold. Are you sure you don't need a jacket or something? I can always go back to get one for you."

The masked ninja remained silent, but the Uchiha did not, his eyebrow twitching. "Urusai, dobe."

Naruto pouted, "Fine, be that way, teme! I was about to come to help you as ordered by Kaka-sensei. Now I see that you have absolutely _no_ need of my help, 'cause you're _obviously winning._ So, I'll just sit out here and watch you to turn in an Uchiha pincushion!"

'_Plus, it'll be fun!'_

The Uchiha turned back to his fight with a holier-than-thou attitude, completely ignoring the blonde – even though he knew that Naruto was right; he really did need some help. However, his Uchiha pride got in the way and wouldn't let him ask his teammate to join the battle. To Naruto's pleasure, watching was fun for a while – then he got bored.

After a short moment longer of seeing Sasuke become even closer to resembling a pincushion, the blonde sighed and got into the cage of mirrors on his own. He waved happily, "Ohayou, teme!"

The only thing he received in return was a glare and a short mutter of annoyance, "What the hell are you doing in here?-!"

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, I can't really go against Ero-sensei's orders you know."

"_**Yeah right, kit, you know you just want to have some fun."**_

"_Well…yes." _Naruto mentally grinned at the Bijuu, before rolling his eyes._ "…That and the fact the whole of Konoha will hound me for watching their __precious__ Uchiha die." _He tried to sound casual and unbothered, but the Bijuu knew what he meant by 'hounding'. The Konoha citizens wouldn't be very happy or very… forgiving towards Naruto, they never were.

Breaking up his thoughts, Haku's soft voice echoed from within the surrounding the mirrors, "You have made a big mistake by coming in here, Uzumaki-san, for I'll never let you out alive." Not a second later, Naruto cried out, feeling the piercing sting of deadly-aimed senbon.

With his all weights on, Naruto wasn't fast enough to dodge all the senbon, nor block them as they came in from every direction, seemingly traveling at the speed of light. The blonde didn't have an absolute defense, and even if he did, he wouldn't use it in front of Sasuke anyways.

He could tell that the ice-cube bastard was slowly but surely improving. Even now, Naruto knew that Sasuke's Sharingan was well on its way to appearing, judging from the chakra that Sasuke was unconsciously pushing into his eyes at the dangerous situation; all Naruto had was the unnaturally fast rate he could heal.

Sekimusha's demonic chakra was the source to his healing rate. Bit by bit, over the years, some of the Kyuubi's chakra was converted into his own due to the seal. Because of that, his body would still heal faster than normal people even without the Bijuu – assuming that he didn't die, that is.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

As one, the newly formed clones jumped towards the mirrors, but before they could reach them, they were all reduced to smoke with a small, echoed cry and a following poof, courtesy of Haku's senbon.

Cursing, Naruto clenched his fists and closed his eyes in thought – not exactly the smartest thing to do in the middle of a fight, especially one where the enemy was hurling senbon he couldn't easily dodge. Then again, no one ever said Naruto was the brightest bulb in the box, even with his hair shining a brighter yellow than most of your average light sources.

"_**What have I always said about jumping in without a plan, Kit? You're just going to get yourself killed…"**_The fox's voice was slightly laced with haughtiness.

"_Urusai, Kyuubi-baka. I'm trying to think of one now!"_

Musha sighed, and Naruto heard the exhaled breath echo around the back of his mind. _**"I know that, kit, I can see the sparks trying to ignite in your brain all the way from your ramen-packed stomach. (You seriously need to cut down by the way, it's even starting to give **_**me**_** gas – ew.)"**_

"_Now's not the time, Sekimusha."_

"_**Then think of something, noodle-for-brains—!"**_

"_Move_, Naruto, you baka!" Sasuke's voice broke through from the outside, scattering the beginnings of a plan. Cursing again, Naruto's eyes shot open and he leapt from his spot as a flurry of senbon lodged themselves into the cement beneath his feet.

"_**Great going, Fishcake, skewer us why don't you!"**_

"_You distracted me! And _Fishcake?-!_"_

"_**Hey, you nicknamed me 'Musha' – I sound like a ramen topping! …No, wait, that's you, Fishcake." **_Naruto could almost see the Kyuubi Lord's twisted grin.

"_After I'm done with Haku, Musha, I'm coming for _**you**."

"_**I'm shaking in my demon-lord socks, Kit, believe me."**_

"_I'll make sure you do after I'm done with you, __believe it!__"_

Despite his awesome prowess that could destroy _any_ world, Sekimusha couldn't help but shiver slightly from within the back of Naruto's mind. The blonde's voice was coated with menace and cruel promises – it wasn't just an empty threat, and, from past experiences, the Bijuu knew it.

Despite the commotion in his brain, however, on the outside, the blonde didn't miss a step as he dodged barrage after barrage of senbon. It was a feat that probably only a few multitasking people could do. Because, really, just how many other people in the world could argue with a whiny demon lodged within their mind and stomach, while simultaneously dodging an assault of pointy things? He really should've gotten a medal for it.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in concentration as he stared at the popping shadow clones and senbon, trying his hardest to predict his enemy's next move. However, unbeknownst to his own actions, more and more of his charka was steadily being gathered behind his eyes. Onyx faded away to crimson. A smirk flitted across his features as his hands found themselves forming a very familiar set of hand seals.

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A burst of flame bloomed from his mouth and spiraled out towards his airborne enemy. Even now, he could see Haku somewhat clearer.

Catching the hurtling ball of fire out of the corner of his porcelain masked eye, Haku immediately changed his course and leapt into the nearest mirror. Nonetheless, he wasn't fast enough. A triumphant smirk graced the Uchiha's face at the burnt hem of the hunter-nin's kimono.

'_Those eyes!' _Haku's own dark eyes narrowed behind his mask in suspicious distaste. '_He's from the Uchiha clan! I should've known that Hatake Kakashi wouldn't teach just _anybody_! Now, I'll have to hurry!'_ Haku's silent gaze shifted briefly, sliding over to the blonde. A plan began to form within his focused mind. However, a crucial factor in his plan was disrupted – unknown to the hunter-nin, the weapon wounds beneath the hyper-active's blaring jumpsuit were all but healed away.

Without a second thought, Haku quickly leapt towards the 'tiring' blonde, senbon in hand, and hurled the deadly projectiles with all his might. Before Sasuke could even register what was going on, his body had already reacted automatically, jumping in front of a stunned Naruto, blocking the lethal weapons.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "S-Sasuke?-! What the hell?-!"

The Uchiha turned slightly and grunted, "…Told you you'd get in the way…" Blackness slowly overcame him, and his body fell into the blonde's arms.

"Uchiha-teme…"

Haku watched from where he was within a mirror, "He knew that it was trap, and yet, he jumped…" Haku sighed. "That boy could've been a great shinobi if he'd tried."

Naruto gently laid the unmoving Uchiha onto the ground and straightened slowly, cerulean eyes covered by the shadow of his bangs. "That _bastard_'s still alive, I can sense it, so don't talk as if he's dead." Behind the mask, hazel eyes widened in surprise, but their owner remained silent, waiting for the blonde to continue.

"Why are you doing this, Haku? You know that you could get out of this alive! Why didn't the two of you just run away from here instead of coming to this godforsaken bridge? If you guys didn't come, then neither of you would have to be killed!"

Without the slightest bit of unease, Haku answered without hesitation. "Zabuza-sama wanted to come," He said simply, without emotion. "And I – I will always follow his wishes no matter what."

Seeming almost disappointed, Naruto sighed and hung his head regretfully. "You know what, Haku? I think… we could've been great friends if none of this had happened. I guess… Perhaps, if it was another place and another time…"

"Hai," Haku offered a small half-smile behind his porcelain façade. "I think we definitely could have, in another place, in another time, demo…" There was a pause in which the brunette's resolve visible toughed; he gripped the senbon at his side. "—Demo, this is _here_ and this is _now_. It is here that we have to fight… to the death." His voice softened somewhat, and Naruto could sense he was smiling softly. "Perhaps, Naruto-kun, we could find each other again… in the next life."

With a building grin, Naruto looked up and smiled determinately at the older teen, "I will _definitely_ find you again, Haku, in a world where neither of us are enemies!" At that, blue slowly faded to red and Naruto's dark pupils became silted. "But, for now, I will fight you." His grin faded, and his countenance hardened in seriousness. "Let's make our last dance with each other memorable for the both of us, Haku."

Haku, showing no outward expression of surprise at the change of colors in the blonde's eyes, readied himself within the mirror, "Yes, let's…"

The deadly dance began. Haku and Naruto met again and again, clash after clash, with weapons each trying to cut the other's flesh. Neither shinobi was fighting at their top speed, however, both wanting to savor this 'last dance' between would-be friends, but both of them were aiming for the kill.

If only they were born in a different place and in a different time, then perhaps they wouldn't be facing each other now as enemies and neither of them would have to die by the others hand.

The two reluctant enemies met again, clashing blurs in the air. Soon, one of them would be dead.

------

When they sensed something vile in the air, both Kakashi and Zabuza paused in the midst of their fight.

Zabuza's brow was pulled down into a frown. _'Is it Kakashi? That killing intent…No… it can't be. It's… It's coming from where Haku is!' _His fists tightened their grip around the handle of his sword._ 'I'd better hurry!'_

At the same time, Kakashi, too, felt panic jolt through his heart._ 'Kyuubi's chakra! Is the seal broken?-!' _For a split second, Kakashi could almost swear his heart stopped._ 'Matte… No… it's still intact, I just know it. I better hurry up and finish this match, or else something bad is going to happen.'_

Not wasting a second, the Konoha-nin called out into the mist, "Zabuza, as much I want to continue this slowly and savor your defeat, I'm afraid I can't. I have to finish you off quickly, now. Something more pressing has come up… and it's more important than _you_."

The Mist Demon simply laughed mockingly, "And what can you actually do, Kakashi? You know that your Sharingan won't affect me and you can't see me within this mist."

Kakashi smiled idly behind his cloth mask. "Do you truly think that I've gotten to where I am by just using cheap imitations of other people's tricks, demon _imp_? No, Zabuza, I think it's about high time I introduced you to my very own set of jutsu!" His Sharingan eye spinning hypnotically, Kakashi's hand reached into his vest pocket; he proceeded to take out a scroll and, with a quick flick of his wrist, tossed it into the air. "This time, Zabuza, you can't even _hope_ to survive…" After finishing the set of seals, he caught the scroll in one fluid movement and slammed it onto the ground.

Murmuring the words of the jutsu, Kakashi watched patiently as brushes of ink rushed out, linking together to form chains as they disappeared into the ground. Not seconds later, a series of loud, splintering cracks could be heard, followed by snarls and Zabuza's scream of anguished pain.

The mist cleared gradually, still leaving a heavy after-haze, revealing the situation the missing ninja was in. He was pinned in place by an assortment of nin-dogs, all wearing the hitai-ate of Konoha. Blood dripped onto the ground, echoing loudly in the silence that fell.

The Copy-nin proceeded to explain the situation with a chuckle, "Did you think that I would get hit so easily, Zabuza? No. When you spilt my blood earlier in our fight – twice, no less, my scent lingered on your weapons without a second thought from you. My cute little—" There came a few warning growls out of nowhere "—_ferocious_ ninja dogs can easily find you within the mist." Standing up straight, with a sudden eerie sense of seriousness, Kakashi fixed Zabuza with a somber gaze. "Now, Momochi Zabuza, it's over…Die quickly."

With that final blessing, a foreboding crackling murmured to life, as if the very air was alive. A blue aura surrounded Kakashi's upturned palm. It was as if he'd taken lightning directly from the centre of a storm and he contained it within his hand as its whip-crack tendrils of electricity lashed out to the heavens, madly out of control.

Zabuza could do nothing but watch. His eyes widened, _'It's his _chakra. _It's so condensed that I can actually see it!'_

"… The sole original technique I have." Kakashi spoke quietly amid the spine-chilling crackle of lightning chakra. His mismatched gaze never left Zabuza's eyes.

"_Raikiri_!"

Sometime during their fierce fight, Haku's mirrors had been smashed. The two shinobis' footsteps could be heard crunching over the ice, which was steadily melting to water as Naruto's demonic chakra flared.

"_**I have to hand it to Haku, kid… He's fast, even without his 'magic mirrors'."**_

"_Hmm…"_

"_**Kit…" **_Musha's voice was gentle, even for a demon lord, as it echoed in the back of his head. _**"You don't **_have _**to kill him…"**_

"_Hai, Musha, I do… It's kinder this way." _Naruto dodged a swipe of a senbon-clawed fist. Senbon clashed on kunai, shuriken meeting needle. The sound of their battle could've been heard over the whole bridge, had not Naruto detected the distant sound of a thousand birds. With his demon-enhanced hearing, he could be sure that Haku had not. Inside his mind, however, it was surprisingly void; empty of thought or hurried fighting plans. He was sure of what he was doing. Killing was in his nature, after all.

"_**How can you be so certain, Kit?"**_

Naruto's small, defeated sigh could be heard drifting around the Kyuubi's cage. _"You should know why, Musha. Haku and Zabuza… They've spent most of their lives together. They've grown to think of each other… as a family. As precious people…" _Naruto trailed off, not really sure if he was talking about Haku and Zabuza at all.

'_**They're… much like Naruto…' **_Musha suddenly realized. _**'Naruto and… her.'**_

"_Sometimes, Musha," Naruto's voice sounded again, "it's kinder to kill both, than to leave one alone in this world." _His blood-hued eyes flickered in sadness and for a moment, Haku almost caught him off-guard. _"That's why…"_

'_I hope you're listening…' _For a second, Naruto felt the familiar ache of loss stab in his chest. Tears swam behind his eyes. _'…Hope you can hear me… Wherever you are up there…' _Naruto sidestepped a vicious lunge by Haku, and saw his chance. _'I'm so sorry…' _His grip on the kunai tightened. _'I…'_

"…Miss you."

Naruto's kunai ripped through the skin of Haku's arm and the hunter-nin abruptly dropped his senbon. Stumbling backwards, Haku looked surprised for a moment, before he ducked under Naruto's follow-up strike and punched the Jinchuuriki in his ribs.

Partially winded for a second, Naruto retreated and leapt back, aiming a final slash wildly as he jumped. For a moment, the two stood feet away, regaining their breath, when unexpectedly, a crack resounded through the air. Eyes widening, Naruto watched as Haku's mask split.

To his eyes, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as the white porcelain fell to the floor and shattered. Haku was smiling sadly, accepting his fate. "I knew, Naruto-kun, that somehow, ever since we met in the forest, this would be how it would end." Hesitantly, Haku made a tender step forward. "You made your decision in that forest, didn't you, Naruto? I want you to know that I was fully aware."

Despite his best efforts, Naruto couldn't stop hot tears pricking at his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He knew, perhaps, what Haku was going to say, before he spoke. That made it all the harder.

"…I knew how you would make your decision, Naruto-kun… And I want you to know that I willing choose death."

Naruto turned his face away, closing his eyes briefly. Strengthening his resolve, he hesitantly looked back up, with his eyes back to their cerulean glaze. "Your master is already dead, Haku…" The sound of chirruping had faded long ago.

"Then let me join him, Naruto." Haku smiled softly. After a moment, Naruto nodded, stepping forwards to meet the hunter. In his own azure eyes, Naruto's movements were torturing-ly slow as he brought up a kunai to rest alongside Haku's exposed neck.

"I… I wish…" A single tear trickled down a whiskered cheek. "I wish we could've been friends."

Without another word, the blonde swiftly slit his throat.

Haku's knees hit the solid concrete below him. A lingering smile was on his face as hazel eyes clouded over for the last time. He never felt himself tumble and land into the blonde's shaking arms. _'You will be… a great ninja…' _The gleam faded from his eyes, and Haku drew a final breath.

'_Thank you… Uzumaki Naruto…'_

Naruto had cut him fast and deep: It was quick; he never felt a thing.

The Uzumaki gently closed the brunette's unseeing eyes and patiently waited until the life-giving liquid had stopped flowing from the fatal wound and had pooled upon the floor, staining their clothing.

"_**Gomen nasai, Kit…"**_

"_I'm sorry too… Musha-chan." _He rarely ever added the suffix to his tenant's name – only when he started to slip back into his former self; the lonely and frightened child of four years old.

Naruto was still standing in the same spot as minutes ticked by, just gazing down at Haku's peaceful body. He barely noticed the fog lift, and Kakashi wander up beside a hand over the boy's shoulder, Kakashi silent bent down and lifted the older boy's form, carrying him over to lie beside his master.

Naruto did nothing for a few seconds, before he wiped his eyes with the back of his bloodstained hand. Silently, he walked over to where Sakura was supporting Sasuke to his feet. The Uchiha took one look at the orange clad boy, and knew he didn't have to ask what had happened to the hunter-nin. Silently, Naruto took Sasuke's arm and slung it over his shoulder. Together, the three of them walked over to where their sensei stood beside the two deceased shinobi.

No one noticed the large boat pulling up to the bridge.

A loud, arrogant voice broke through the tense air, "Those two are useless after all!" Startled out of their individual thoughts (in Naruto's case, not-so-individual, with the Kyuubi wanting to put his two cents in), everyone suddenly pivoted to see what only could be Gatou and a large group of thugs.

"Oh well," The man they recognized as Gatou went on, "It's not like I planned to leave them alive after this, anyway."

Dormant anger abruptly bubbled up within Naruto and blue turned red once again at the sight of the little man (not that Naruto could ridicule him for being so short) standing there and having the audacity to _laugh _while Haku and Zabuza laid dead at his feet.

Feeling the sudden spike in killing intent, Kakashi warily glanced beside him at the shaking blonde with worry written within his mismatched eyes. Other than the Konoha Copy-cat Ninja, no one else seemed to have detected any change in the Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki. Kakashi cursed silently. If Naruto went Kyuubi… He didn't even dare to continue on that trail of thought.

"Sakura."

"Huh?" The pink haired kunoichi looked up at her instructor, startled, tearing her eyes from the intimidating thugs. "What is it, Kaka-sensei?"

Kakashi turned his head to her, but his eyes didn't leave the mismatched group of lowlifes that lingered in his piercing sight. "I need you to take Tazuna and Sasuke back to the house—" He caught the look of horror in Sasuke's eye and couldn't help but smile beneath his mask. Had Naruto not been gazing murderously, almost hungrily, at the thugs, he would've outright laughed at the Uchiha's expression when he heard he was being left almost virtually alone with one of his more… _forward _fan-girls.

"D-demo—!"

"No 'buts', Sasuke, you're in no condition to fight anymore. I'll take care of things here with Naruto's help. Sakura, warn the villagers! Go!"

No one questioned the seasoned Jounin. Tazuna, Sasuke (with a jealous glare at the blonde) and Sakura disappeared from the bridge in a matter of seconds. Turning, relieved, Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. The boy was trembling violently as he tried to control himself. _'Naruto…'_

The vanishing act made by the two Genin and the bridge builder didn't go unnoticed by Gatou. With a flick of his hand, he smacked his cane upon the ground. "Hey! Stop them!"

The assorted fighters gripped on their weapons and made to rush forward, but were suddenly stopped by an outburst of killing intent. So heavy was its bloodlust, that even the retreating trio – already out of sight of the bridge – could feel it.

In one terrified heartbeat, Kakashi had quickly leapt clear from the blonde, who was being speedily covered and consumed with crimson charka. The water vapor in the air around him turned to steam in the blink of an eye, proving just how scorching hot the deadly charka was.

Before the thugs and the Jounin could registered anything more, Naruto disappeared. There came several gasps from the cranks, but Kakashi's eyes just narrowed, hand straying towards his kunai pouch; he wasn't willing to risk Naruto being consumed by the Kyuubi… even if it meant incapacitating the blonde… _indefinitely_.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion as chakra burst from out of nowhere. Tumbling out of the air, Naruto landed in the midst of the hired brutes. They could only jump in shock before Naruto swiped outwards with his claws, yowling like an angered fox. Screams hit the air, along with the clatter of weapons as they fell from bloodied grasps. It was all over in seconds.

Body parts were tossed up into the air in Naruto's wake as he tore through the mass of thugs. The splatter of blood echoed around the strangely silent bridge as the last goons fell. Slowing to a halt, Naruto stopped on all fours, menace and bloody-thirst in his eyes, (just like the feral beast he was now imitating) right in front of Gatou – the only one still standing. Gatou shook in absolute fear, too paralyzed to run. Naruto slowly stood on two feet again, but it only served to make him seem more demonic. The state of his clothes was revealed – splattered and soaked with the dead men's blood.

With a fanged, sadistic smile, he lifted up his claw-like hands and Naruto advanced on Gatou. The rich merchant could do nothing but back away and watch his final seconds tick by, reflected in those silted, blood red eyes.

"A demon," he whispered just before he, too, was torn into pieces.

At the foot of the bridge, the villagers and the two Genin stared at the sight that could only be called a massacre. After registering was laid before their eyes, the former erupted in a cheer, ecstatic that the terror in their world was finally gone for good.

There was a second in which Kakashi and Naruto's eyes met. Kakashi's grip on his kunai tightened momentarily, before Naruto gave him a shaky, weak, _genuine _smile. His eyes flitted back to cerulean and the Jounin breathed a sigh of relief, covering his Sharingan eye.

Naruto swayed where he stood, and he felt a sudden weariness wash over him. _'M-my chakra…-? Musha's chakra; did i use too much…-?' _The blonde swayed and his silent question was answered for him. "Heh, guess… I'm going to… be out for…a… while…"

The crimson charka retreated back into the blonde's body and Naruto fell unconscious soon after. It was finally over; they had _won_.

------

Sasuke lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. It was quite boring, even for him. For ages he lay there, shifting uncomfortably as the smooth bedding beneath him pressed into his bandaged wounds. The most annoying thing, though, was that those goddamn needles pierced him almost _everywhere_. No matter what position he lay in, one of his not-yet-fully-healed wounds (Kakashi didn't have enough chakra to heal them yet) would always sting in protest. In the end, he settled for lying on his back, listening to the house around him.

Everything was quiet, the moon shining in through the window and across the three Genin sleeping (or, most of them sleeping) upon the floor. Around the house, waves lapped lazily in the gentle night breeze, the muffled sound melding with the steady breathing of Sakura, upon Sasuke's left, and Naruto, upon Sasuke's right.

Turning his head slightly to his right, the Uchiha cast envy-filled onyx eyes upon his blonde haired team mate, who was yet again unconscious. Kakashi had, Sasuke remembered, carried Naruto into Tazuna's house not long after the battle at the bridge had ended. He would say only that Naruto had used too much chakra, and would probably be out for the rest of the day.

It was now night time, and Naruto hadn't woken up. It was to be expected, really, with his chakra exhaustion and all (not to mention chakra exhaustion twice in practically one _week_), but Sasuke couldn't help but want answers, and he really didn't want to wait until tomorrow.

He watched as Naruto's face twitched in his sleep. The Dobe was frowning. How odd, that annoying chatterbox had never seemed so quiet. Sasuke scowled irritably. _'Baka Dobe.' _The one christened 'duck head' by said chatterbox clenched his fists at his sides, ignoring the pain it brought. _'What did you do? What the hell did you do to progress so quickly?-!' _Sasuke fixed the sleeping figure with the infamous Uchiha death glare. _'You're the dead last, yet you're getting much stronger. You're the _dead last. _How come you survived Haku after I was knocked out?-! I'm _stronger_ than you! Why didn't he kill you?-!' _

Suddenly, Sasuke cut himself off. His was ranting in his head to… no one. The blonde definitely couldn't hear him. Oh, how he wished the Dobe would wake up, just so Sasuke could beat the answers out of him. Kami's sake, he wanted to know! He wanted to know how Naruto kept surprising them so easily; how he kept coming out on top with a new strategy or a new move that should be way above his level of _thinking_, not to mention actually carrying the moves out. Sasuke wanted to know just how the blonde kept besting him! He wanted to know, dammit! He wanted to—!

Was he _sulking_?-! Sasuke grunted and shifted a bit, scowling at nothing in particular. Uchiha's don't sulk! They…-! They…-!

… He was sulking. '_Dammit!_'

Glancing back at Naruto, Sasuke bit his lip in thought. Something was puzzling him, and not just how lucky the Dobe seemed to be: Naruto's argument with Inari (Or rather, his rage or his rant… his flare-up; outburst; male PMS fit).

…Confession? No.

A confession was one thing it couldn't be; definitely not from the Dobe. Dobe probably didn't even tell a shred of truth about himself in his speech. All he probably did was ranting about other people's problems.

…But still. Why would he get angry at Inari otherwise? Sasuke huffed, pulling his blanket tighter about him. And another thing, just how did Naruto know so much about him? Itachi killing the clan… wasn't exactly common knowledge; especially not to the lower level ninja.

Sighing, Sasuke settled back onto his pillow, looking at his team mate out of the corner of his eye. He shivered as an ominous feeling shot up his spine. The Uchiha put it down to the cold.

…Cold.

'_Just like Haku's ice mirrors_', he thought. The brunette frowned at the unwanted memory, trying to push it to the back of his mind. A lot of things were cold in Nami no Kuni, he realized: Haku's jutsu; his blank porcelain mask; Zabuza's intimidating stare. _'This frickin' room…'_ And, for a split second, _'Naruto's eyes…'_

Naruto had gripped him by the arm, and held him back from fighting Zabuza. Sasuke looked at him, outraged that a dunce with all luck and no skill was lecturing him on who he could fight. _"Why the hell do you feel the need to prove yourself, Sasuke?-!" _…In that moment, azure eyes had seemed so very, very cold …So very empty.

And then, Sasuke remembered. As Naruto laid him gently upon the hard, frozen concrete, inches from what he thought was his death, a flash of scarlet passed through cerulean, and Naruto turned away. Slit, crimson eyes, so full of rage and hatred…

They reminded him of Itachi's… somewhat.

"Naruto…" The murmur was too low for human ears to catch, and the recuperating Jinchuuriki slept on unaware.

…

"…Just what the hell are you?"

------

The next day, the whole village turned out to see the Konoha-nins off. They stood at the bridge, saying their goodbyes to the Land of Waves. Sakura waved cheerily at the small congregation as beside her, Kakashi thanked the town for their hospitality. Tazuna just laughed, brushed off his thanks and thanked them instead.

"I should be thanking you!" He said exuberantly, "Without you, this bridge would have never been finished, and our small land would never have been connected to the mainland. We should _all _be thanking you!"

Kakashi chuckled, his eyes (both the visible one and the one under his hitai-ate) upturned in a smile. His hand crept towards his pouch, where his precious Icha Icha lay in wait, but he would put off reading it until they were on their way home – he didn't want to seem rude, after all. Next to him, Naruto noticed the Jounin's movement, and scowled grumpily up at his sensei. Kakashi just smiled back at him, seemingly oblivious to the blonde's disapproval. With a huff, Naruto turned to Inari, a grin sliding back on his face.

"You better come back to visit!" Inari insisted, pointing a finger at the orange-clad Genin. Naruto nodded and flashed the Gai-dubbed 'Good Guy Smile'.

"Yosh! Of course I will, Inari, believe it! Dattebayo!"

Beside the blonde, Sasuke's eye twitched, annoyed, and his fist collided with Naruto's head without a second thought. Simultaneously, both the Genin then suddenly yelped in pain, (or rather, Naruto yelped, Sasuke just flinched and grunted), for Naruto was still sore and weary from his chakra exhaustion, and Sasuke still had a few newly-healed wounds here and there, which Kakashi did not heal since he insisted that he still don't have enough chakra. (Both Naruto and Sasuke just swore he was the laziest teacher they had ever met.)

"That hurt, teme-duck-head!"

"Well, it hurt me too! Don't call me 'duck head', baka!"

Sasuke took another (slower) swipe at Naruto. Naruto ducked and stuck his tongue out.

Laughter broke out at their antics, except for Sakura, who frowned at their behavior, concerned about their still healing injuries (especially her beloved Sasuke-kun's). Kakashi just turned to go, ruffling their hair as he passed, ensuing in hand-swatting protests and a disgruntled 'Hn' from the boys.

As the team started down the road to home, fading shouts of goodbye followed them down the bridge before they moved out of earshot and on towards Konoha, Kakashi already reaching for his beloved book.

**------**

Their journey was a slower return than they had initially planned. Sasuke and Naruto were still injured, and were both displeased about lagging behind, especially since it meant walking at the same pace as the other; as sure as the sky was blue, arguments ensued.

Before long, the sun disappeared into the horizon and night fell upon the world. Alas, the four Konoha-nins were still on the way home. Under the watch of the twinkling stars, they ate their makeshift dinner and lay down to sleep.

It was a peaceful night, with only the cackling of the fire and the sounds of the forest nightlife breaking through the comfortable silence. However, for some unknown reason, Naruto just couldn't sleep. Groaning as quietly as he could, he rolled over in his sleeping bag, glancing around at his sleeping teammates. A few moments later, his gaze returned to the beautiful sky. He slung his arm across his eyes, but it still didn't cure his restlessness.

There was something bugging him, and he didn't quite know what it was. Sighing, he cast about his head for his usual source of conversation. _"Musha…-? Yo, Musha!" _No reply. For perhaps the first time in his life, Naruto was awake without the Bijuu, who currently lurked in his cage, sound asleep. _'Goddamn Kyuubi…'_

Suddenly, Naruto was jolted out of his grumblings by a voice. "Can't get to sleep, Naruto?" asked Kakashi, who was on first-watch. Blinking, Naruto had totally forgotten that the Jounin was still up.

The blonde sat up and sighed, "Yeah…"

For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the sound of the dying fire. Absent-mindedly, Kakashi stoked it with a discarded twig. In his sleep, Sasuke grunted and rolled over. And then, almost as if Sasuke could grant miracles with his sleep-grunting, Naruto suddenly knew what was bothering him. He sighed inwardly and resisted the urge to drop his face into his palms.

Instead, he ran a hand through his hair. _'I…shouldn't even be bothered by this stuff…' _But it didn't matter, try as he might, now he knew about it, Naruto couldn't get the questions out of his head. He sighed, causing Kakashi to glance sideways at him curiously.

"Something wrong, Naruto?"

"Eh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning slightly and glancing over at his sensei through scrunched-up eyes. "Ano…" For a second, Naruto hesitated…

"…Kaka-sensei?" He threw caution to the winds.

"Hmm?" Kakashi turned his head slightly towards the blonde, but his eye stayed upon the glowing fire, as if mesmerized by its light. After making sure the others were truly asleep and no one unwanted was around, Naruto moved beside his teacher and spoke, "Kaka-sensei … You know that I'm…" He paused, taking in a breath, "…That I'm your sensei's son, don't you…-?"

Wordlessly, the Jounin nodded.

He looked at him sideways, and he could tell that, even thought the Copy-nin retained the same composure, Kakashi had stiffened just the tiniest bit. Looking away, Naruto returned his gaze to the dim stars.

"…So then… Why wait until now…-? Why wait until now to tell me that you knew? …" Naruto turned his head, but his mentor wouldn't meet his gaze. "Sensei?"

For what seemed like eternity, there was silence; until, suddenly, Kakashi spoke. "Are you afraid of spiders?"

"—I…What?" The blonde blinked, startled from the unexpected question, "No, not really."

"…Minato-sensei hated them – couldn't stand the things." Kakashi tossed the twig onto the fire, watching as a small flame sprung up to consume it. "If there's something worth seeing at least once in your life, it's the most revered and feared Hokage squealing like a little girl, jumping over his desk to avoid a money-spider…"

"I… don't…" Naruto blinked, confused by the Jounin's abrupt speech.

"The way you act… You're not like your father, in some respects. You resemble your mother more, in jutsu and techniques…" Naruto was quiet, letting the Jounin carry on his monotone. Some things play out better with no interruptions. "Up until I saw the scroll in your hand… It was easy to pretend you were just another kid…" Kakashi hesitated, and still refused to meet Naruto's eyes, "I was able to ignore the fact that you're the spitting image of your father… And so, I held my silence…" For a moment, it seemed as thought he wanted to say something more.

He didn't.

"So…" Naruto cautiously voiced his thoughts, his eyes piercingly bright in the firelight. "Am I a painful reminder? …Perhaps, a face you want to forget?"

And, suddenly, in that moment, Kakashi turned to face him. Slowly, a small, bitter smile crept its way out from beneath his mask with a small chuckle. "Naruto… You make it sound as though you expect me to hate you."

With a perfectly straight, serious face, Naruto replied, "And do you?"

Kakashi blinked, surprised, before his visible eye softened slightly, and crinkled in a sort-of melancholic smile. "…No. I'm not one to hate someone because of my own petty reasons."

For a second, Naruto stayed as still as a statue, only slightly confused at what he meant, before he nodded and quietly stood, drowsiness finally setting in. "…Goodnight, Kaka-sensei." He turned and began to walk away.

"Matte, Naruto…" Naruto paused, but didn't turn around. "Before you go, just answer me one question in return…" Kakashi fixed a steady, calculating eye upon Naruto's back. "…Am I not the only one, who's been hiding things?"

Naruto drew in a silent, heavy breath, and his gaze graced the ground.

"…Goodnight, Kaka-sensei."

Without another word, he slipped into his makeshift bed, and fell asleep.

**------**

The sun hung high above their heads in the vast and cloudless blue sky. A chilling wind snapped at their slightly shivering frames, heavily due to the fact they never expected a sudden change in the weather. Only Naruto was spared from the chill since he had a useful tenant that absolutely refused to have a sick vessel. After all, a sick vessel could possibly mean a dead vessel, and in this case, a dead vessel means a dead tenant.

Birds flew about the trees beside them, singing their sweet, unique songs. Their walk was peaceful, save for the fact they were cold. It was only broken by a certain pink-haired kunoichi wannabe, who got more and more talkative as they got closer to the gates of Konoha.

'_I can't take much more of this!' _Naruto was practically in hysterics inside his mind as Sakura's rant seemed to go on. And on. And on. He was never so glad to see the gates of Konoha loom above them, casting them into a cold shadow as they passed beneath them.

Suddenly, almost as if in a dream, the voices of his team mates were tuned out and blurred, and Naruto felt a frozen shiver jolt along his spine, almost jarring his whole body forward. He felt, rather than heard, Musha's guarded curiosity burst forth from his body as both he and his vessel sensed an unusual disturbance.

Was the Bijuu searching for something?

Everything else was invisible to his eyes as he drowned in the black expanse that fogged his senses. The air was thick around him, and he could almost see the kitsune reaching out his undetected chakra over the village. Sekimusha seemed more alert than usual, more feral, and Naruto could almost see the hungry look on his face as he tried to search for whatever it was that drove him to his frantic mindset.

"—uto? Naruto!"

Naruto was shoved back into the world around him suddenly by a voice. He didn't know which one of the three said it, but he was thankful, because the underwater sensation lifted as unsuspectingly as it came.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. Try as he might, he found it hard to remain indifferent to how awfully pale his student had just become.

"H-Hai…" Naruto stumbled about over his words for a second, slightly giddy as Musha suddenly pulled all his charka back into his container. It was quite a shock to his system. Nonetheless Naruto grinned foolishly at them and regained his composure. "Nothing's wrong! It just got chilly there for a sec!"

All three of his team looked skeptically at him, and he did the only thing he could think of. The blonde scratched the back of his head and distracted them all with one of Sakura's rants.

"So, Sakura-chan! You were saying something…-?"

"Baka Naruto! You weren't listening at all, were you?-! That's bad manners—!" Naturally, his plan backfired, and Sakura started to berate him. It didn't matter, they were distracted. Distinctly, in the back of his mind, Naruto heard a low murmur amid the screeching of his team mate. A small whisper reached his ears.

"_**Kit… He's here…"**_

"_Who?"_

"_**Shukaku."**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	8. Set In Motion

**Chapter update! Enjoy!**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

**

* * *

**

**A Fox's Deception  
_Set In Motion_**

"_Shukaku? Who's that?"_

Naruto, seated in his mindscape, stared up at the large Bijuu with wide, innocent-like eyes. Sighing at his vessel's stupidity, Sekimusha cuffed him on the head with the side of one of his sharp claws. As Naruto yelped in pain and glowered at him, Kyuubi withdrew the claw back between the bars of his cage, and resigned himself to his usual role of explanation._** "Don't you remember what I told you about the nine tailed-demons?"**_

Blue eyes widened in shock, brain clicking into gear. _"Wait!__"_ He jumped up in shock._ "__Shukaku? As in the Ichibi no Tanuki?_**That**_ Shukaku?__"_

"_**Yes."**_ _**'He finally got it!'**_

"_Well, shit! You mean the vessel of the Sand demon is currently here in Konoha? The same demon that got contaminated by the soul of an insane priest! Are you sure?"_

"_**Yes, yes, I'm **__**sure**__**. There's no way that **__**I**__**, the most powerful demon alive, would have such a hard time sensing any of my fellow Bijuu, inside a vessel or not."**_

"_Kuso!__"_ The blonde started to pace around the room._"__Just what I needed, a Jinchuuriki with a crazy Bijuu in their head. If something goes wrong, who do you think will have to take the demon head on just because they can live to tell the tale?-! Me!"_

Sekimusha coughed.

"…_Well…us! …But that's not the point, Musha! The point is: I'm going to have to keep an eye on the idiot because I'm not having it mess up the village and somehow get the blame put on to me!"_

"_**But Kit, you're forgetting**__** the**__** important facts again! Shukaku is a **_**sand**_** demon. From **_**Suna**_**. Sealed around the same time as **_**me. **_**Meaning Suna**__**'s**__** Genin**_ _**must be in the village. **_**Genin**_**, Kit. At this time of year, they must be here for—"**_

Naruto felt realization hit him. _"—Here for the Chuunin Exams! I knew it! We're lucky that we came back just in time for it! Hey, Musha, do you think Ero-sensei will put us forward?"_

"_**Of course he will, baka. If it isn't for the fact that you and your team have had a B-rank mission already, then it will be for the fact that the council members will force him to put **__**the Uchiha**__** forward."**_

"_G__ood point."_

After a pause, Naruto asked, _"Oi, Musha, do you think the other two know about the Chuunin Exams?"_

"_**Nope, don't think so," **_the Bijuu answered immediately, thinking about it for all of two seconds. _**"The pinkie came from a non-ninja clan and the duckbutt is too drawn into his own little revenge-world to notice anything else."**_

"_Speaking about that, when do you think Konoha's truth will __finally __spill? Before or after nii-chan dies?"_

"_**Hopefully, before."**_

"_Yeah…"_ The blonde sighed wistfully. _"Why can't we tell everyone?__ I really want to expose the dark side of Konoha to them, especially those who believe that Konoha is the most peaceful and just hidden village there is.__"_

"_**But t**__**hat's **__**his**__**wish, remember?" **_Musha intoned.

"_Yeah," _Naruto shook his head, _"I remember, but I mean _when _can we tell them?"_

The Bijuu heaved a sigh. _**"I don't know, kit."**_

Naruto pouted, and muttered glumly, _"…Ita-chan's gonna die, isn't he?"_

Musha tutted._**"Don't be so cynical, Kit. You're going to start sounding like duckbutt soon." **_Naruto made a 'hmph' noise. Sekimusha's voice took on a softened edge. _**"Besides, didn't he ask you to trust in him? He won't die for a long time yet — not until he's killed you 'cause you keep calling him 'Ita-chan'."**_

"_Ah!" _The blonde pointed dramatically at the giant furball,_ "But what he doesn't know can't hurt me!" _Naruto fixed him with a menacing glare,_ "Because he'll never find out I call him that, _will he_, Musha?"_

"…"

"Will. He."

No reply, just a furry smirk.

After a second, a shiver of forewarning ran up the kitsune's spine as the blonde gave another smirk of his own, _"Then, I guess I have no choice but to tell Ita-chan that _you're_ the one who called him that first!"_

"_**You wouldn't dare!"**_

Naruto just smirked again, not answering the question, before walking out of his mindscape dramatically (well, at least it was as dramatic an exit as it could be, seeing that it was the closest he could get to 'walking out' when he all he did was open his eyes.). He left a horrified Bijuu behind with his thoughts of what Itachi would do to him if he ever found out the origin of the nickname 'Ita-chan'.

Sighing, Naruto gazed forlornly out of his window from where he sat crossed-legged on his bed. Rain was falling in torrents, hammering on the glass as the frame rattled in the wind's rage.

-----

Naruto sighed and poked at the empty instant-ramen packet on his lap, wishing it would suddenly refill itself. After a minute in which it didn't magically fill, Naruto hefted it up and lobbed it across the room where it landed in his small bin with a dull thunk.

Glancing over at his alarm clock, he saw that it was 7:30am, and decided that the rain didn't look like it would let up for another hour at least. Letting out a tired breath, he settled against the window sill, figuring that he could afford to be a few hours late, cause, hey, it's not like Kakashi would get there before him. Hell would undoubtedly freeze over before that happened.

Soon, his mind wandered off to the mysterious Jinchuuriki that was in Konoha. He wondered who they were, and whether he would meet them in the Chuunin Exams.

Would he have to fight them?

A shiver ran down his spine with a jolt, whether out of fear or anticipation, he did not know. He assumed it was maybe a bit of both.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, the Jinchuuriki he was thinking about was very shortly about to meet up with his other teammates…

"Oof!" exclaimed Sakura as something bumped into her, making her fall onto her butt with a heavy thud.

She looked up angrily, and saw a little boy in the same undignified position as she was, rubbing his butt. "Hey, watch it you little twerp!" scolded the pink-haired girl testily.

The boy on the ground glared up at her. "Like hell I'm a twerp! I'm Konohamaru! And quit shouting! You sound like a banshee with a huge forehead!"

A vein popped in the forehead of the accused. She growled, "What. Did you. _Just. Call. Me_?"

Konohamaru, who was hopeless when it came to sensing dangerous territory (which was a very dangerous thing when wanting to become a good ninja), stood up, puffed out his chest proudly, and proceeded to tell Sakura exactly what he'd called her. Luckily for him, he was good at ducking, especially when Sakura's fist flew towards his face.

"Hey! What the hell?-! You can't hit a defenseless _kid_! What the hell is wrong with you, baka-pinkie?-!" Wrong move.

There was the crack of knuckles and the pink-haired girl grinned evilly. "You just don't know when to stop, do you?"

Konohamaru paled considerably.

In the next street over, where Udon and Moegi were playing ninja, they wondered where their team leader, Konohamaru, was. After all, it was very unbecoming for _any_ ninja to wander off in the middle of a mission, unless they were unfortunately wandering around in limbo wondering where the pathway to Heaven was. This time, they were supposed to be undergoing a 'top-secret important S-rank mission to the Land of Mist to rescue Mizu's daimyo'.

Suddenly, they heard a very girly scream from the joining street, followed by a loud thud, more screams, and running footsteps. They both knew immediately who it was.

"Konohamaru-kun," the duo sighed in union.

As if on cue, the said boy toppled round the corner, his face bruised and fat tears leaking from his eyes.

"Iieeeeeeeee!" He cried out as he ran.

The 'pink-haired monster' took another swing, but before her hit could land, Konohamaru tripped over his own scarf and ended up rolling head over heels, crashing into Udon and Moegi with a loud thud.

There was silence for a minute as they all groaned in pain, all three kids in a tangle on the ground. Sakura stood over them, glaring.

"Konohamaru-kun… What did you do this time…-?" groaned Moegi, who tried and failed to clamber out from beneath the two boys.

The ninja-wannabe lay on top of them, moaning in pain quietly. "Nothiiiiingg…" He groaned. "I just called her—Itai!"

Udon's hand clamped down upon his mouth. "Konohamaru-kun, I don't think you should repeat it if she's standing right beside us."

Sakura let out a short growl in agreement, still glaring at Konohamaru, before sighing and turning away. "Next time, don't insult a lady!"

She was about to walk off, and leave the trio in a heap upon the ground, but as she moved away, she heard footsteps walking up from the other end of the street, followed by a voice:

"Oi, gaki, you're in my way. Move."

Two Sand ninja stood over the prone children, gazing down at them with distant amusement. For a second, Konohamaru didn't move as Moegi and Udon scurried out of the way. The request was bluntly repeated.

As Konohamaru struggled up, the Suna shinobi bent down and hefted Konohamaru to his feet roughly. "Be quicker next time, or I'll have to rough you up a bit." His eyes glided over Konohamaru's black eye and sore skin. "_More _than you already are." Konohamaru winced.

Sensing Sakura's gaze, the girl looked up and smirked softly. "I suppose you're the one who put them in this sorry state."

Sakura blushed a little, having the sudden feeling that she was being made fun of. "He insulted me. He should learn not to insult a lady."

The boy's grip shifted as he held Konohamaru up by his ridiculously long scarf.

"Kudos," the Suna kunoichi said. "People like that need to be taught a lesson." Her eyes flicked towards the younger Suna ninja, who no doubt wanted to be the one to teach Konohamaru his manners. She sighed, "Kankuro, put the kid down, we're in a hurry."

Kankuro looked over to his sister and frowned. "Aw, c'mon Temari, you take the fun out of everything! I was only gunna scare him a little."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "Do you _want _to have to deal with your brother?-!" At Kankuro's half-pleading look, however, she sighed and gave in. "Fine. But don't get me involv—"

"Kankuro, put him down."

Temari was cut off by a new voice – a cold, emotionless voice. Both Suna ninjas immediately stopped and turned.

Kankuro glared. "Gaara. I was just having some fun!"

Sakura stared. A red-head boy was hanging upside down from a tree. Like a bat. _'That's just creepy…' _She couldn't help but think. _'Is _he_ their brother? Funny, he looks the youngest, why would they answer to him?' _

Gaara's green eyes snapped to her, and Sakura froze. She suddenly felt very vulnerable. With a gulp, she tried to look away, but found that she couldn't. Moegi and Udon stood behind her, trying to hide themselves from the strange ninja's stone-cold gaze.

All of a sudden, his gaze shifted past her, and Sakura couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Even as she did, she realized that the boy hadn't had to release any killing intent at all to keep her frozen to the spot.

"What are you doing here?" Gaara's low voice spoke once again, his eyes fixed upon one Uchiha Sasuke, who was leaning against the fencing behind Sakura.

Realizing he was there, Sakura smiled widely. "Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke ignored her and looked past her to the Suna shinobi. His eyes narrowed, meeting the redhead's gaze. "I could ask you the same thing. You're not from here." When he didn't get an answer, Sasuke scowled further. "Who are you?"

Gaara paused and looked over his shoulder from where he and his siblings had started to walk away. "I am… Sabaku no Gaara. Who are you?"

Sasuke smirked. "Uchiha Sasuke. So, why are you here?"

But Gaara had already turned back and started walking off. Before following her brother, it was Temari who answered him.

"Heh, you really _are _uninformed." She waved back over her shoulder as she turned on her heel. "We're here for the Chuunin Exams. What else?" And then they were gone.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and scowled further. Before Sakura could have a chance to pounce him, he pushed past her to meet up with Kakashi like they had meant to do all along, before their detour. Sakura was left alone to make her own way to their meeting spot, Konohamaru and his friends already having fled from the ninja.

'_The Chuunin Exams, huh?'_

-----

Naruto sighed as he stepped out of his apartment, locking the door behind him. He glanced up to the sky. '_At least it's stopped raining now.' _

With another bored exhale, he turned away from his door, his hands momentarily flicking into the sign to activate the intruder seal, feeling a slight twinge in the hidden seal on his hand as usual.

'_Yosh, all set! I wonder what boring and menial tasks Kakashi will have us do today; something extremely annoying, no doubt…' _His thoughts wandered off as he moved away from his home and down the path towards the bridge where Team 7 met.

As expected, when he arrived there, his two teammates were already present, and the Copy-cat ninja was no where to be seen.

Sakura scowled at him. "You're late, Naruto!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, looking around. "Ano, I waited for the rain to stop… And besides, Kaka-sensei isn't here yet, so I'm not technically late!"

Behind him, Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, "Tch, baka," and that was all that was said on the matter. For another ten minutes, the team waited in near-silence until their sensei showed up. ('Near-silence' of course meaning 'silence with the exception of the loudmouth Naruto')

"Yo!" He greeted with his one-eyed smile.

"**You're late**!" Sakura and Naruto shouted loudly, the former being much louder than usual, due to the fact she'd be waiting longer and was very, very pissed off.

Now, Kakashi being Kakashi, _of_ _course_, he waited until halfway through their pointless mission of _yet again_ catching Tora to spring the Chuunin Exams on them. Honestly, that cat was a god-send amongst cats. Naruto was willing to bet it could even evade being captured by a Jounin or Kage (ironically, only to be caught by Genin after a long chase). However, since Kakashi absolutely refused to help (besides talking on the cordless radio and reading his favourite book – if reading porn could even be described as helpful) and Sandaime found Tora's exploits amusing, Naruto would never get to test his theory. Thanks to the Jounin's diversion, Tora got away (_after_ being caught), and Kakashi was bombarded by Naruto's yells of "The hell?-! She got away! Just who's side are you on?-!"

After finding and returning Tora to the Fire Daimyo's wife and receiving the application forms for the Chuunin Exams, Team 7 all went their separate ways. Naruto headed home, grumbling about stupid cats that utterly refused to stay home and loved to give them trouble.

Naruto slipped in through his door and shut it behind him, dropping his keys on the table as he passed. Yawning, he moved towards the refrigerator on his usual ramen hunt. Spotting an unopened cup of instant ramen conveniently located right at the front, Naruto dove in before suddenly freezing, looking at the packet in disbelief. He spoke to the empty house.

"Since when… did I buy miso flavor?"

After a moment of thought, he shrugged it off ("Things sure are strange around here!") and put it down to a momentary lapse in memory, closing the refrigerator door with a dull thunk. He boiled some water and poured the ramen into the bowl. After a few minutes, he happily plopped down at the table with the steaming bowl of ramen in his hands.

He grinned. "Itadakimasu!"

As afternoon turned into evening, Naruto lay upon his bed and stared at the darkening ceiling. To anyone looking in at him at that moment, he would have seemed blank, unresponsive and half-asleep. However, Musha knew better… well, to be fair, Naruto really _was _half-asleep.

"_**What're you thinking, Kit?"**_

"_Huh? Oh…" _Naruto blinked dolefully and made a non-committal noise in his throat. _"Nothin'…"_ Musha waited for a few seconds, before trying to elaborate.

"_**The Chuunin Exams… right?"**_

"_Well… Yeah." _Naruto sighed and rolled over onto his stomach, staring out at the darkening sky and stifling a tired yawn in his pillow. _"Beginning tomorrow, I'll be taking the Exams with Sasuke and Sakura – my team. Demo…" _His eyes dropped closed and he sighed, feeling sleep creep up on him. _"I guess I was just thinking about… Me and __her__…" _

Musha sighed, shifting in his cage where he lay. _**"Get some sleep, Kit. You're tired."**_

Naruto nodded into his pillow, already bordering on dreams. Musha almost didn't catch his last sleepy mumble.

"We wanted to take it together…"

Quiet fell as Naruto's shallow breathing filled the apartment, and it stayed that way until morning.

-----

"She's late."

"…I know."

'_Well that's his word count for the day!' _Glancing about aimlessly to pass the time, Naruto pouted and shifted as he sat upon the ground outside the Ninja Academy. _'Awww, c'mon! I knew she'd have _some _doubts about the Exams, but she can't have seriously stood us up!'_ A few more seconds passed before Naruto broke the silence once more.

"She's _late_!" The blonde repeated for the umpteenth time that day.

"I know, dobe. Now shut it."

Naruto blinked at the Uchiha for a few seconds with a deadpanned, affronted look. Sasuke leaned against the wall of the building, pointedly looking anywhere but at the orange eye-sore that was his team mate. _'Stuck up bastard…' _Then, of course, just to piss the bastard off:

"She's late!"

A vein popped in Sasuke's forehead and his minuscule amount of Idiot-Naruto-Tolerance shattered, "**Usuratonka**—!"

As if on cue, Sakura ran up to them, waving, with a smile on her face. "Ohayou, guys!" She stopped short, however, at the ticked-off looks the two boys undoubtedly wore on their faces. She laughed nervously. "…I'm late…"

"_We__know_!" They exclaimed. Even the usually silent Sasuke was irritated by her lateness.

Sakura just sweatdropped at their united response and shrugged apologetically. "Gomen…"

Naruto huffed and stood up, while Sasuke just rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Never mind." The Uchiha said, turning towards the academy doors. "Let's just go."

In unison, Naruto and Sakura walked towards the entrance on either side of Sasuke and opened the door. Together, the current Team 7 of Konoha entered the building.

Naturally, it wasn't long until Naruto's attention span ran out, and he started to complain. "Oi! There were never this many stairs before, I swear! My feet hurt!"

"Urusai, dobe."

"But—!"

"He said shut up!"

"But—!"

"_**Fishcake! Shut the hell up!"**_

'_Eh…' _Naruto gulped and quieted down a bit, as he could almost see the snarl lingering on Musha's face. But even though he was just putting up his usual 'baka front', he still felt the need to complain to Musha; just a teensy bit. As usual, his whining was tactfully ignored.

"_Mushaaa-!" _

"…"

"_Seki-chan!"_

"…"

"_Sekimuuuuu-!"_

"_**Urusai, gaki!" **_Of course, not even the thousand-year-old demon with his thousand-year-old patience could withstand him for long, proving the uttermost power of Naruto when he wanted to annoy someone.

"_Mou! Musha! You're so mean to me! Baka-Sekimu!"_

The demon just sweatdropped and growled warningly. **"Don't call me that! And stop being so hyper on a day like today! You should be paying attention!"**

Naruto pouted and scowled. _"Musha! No fair! Why can't I call you names?-!"_

The Bijuu just heaved a sigh. _**"Shut it, Fishcake-kun."**_

"I am not a fishcake, dammit!" Naruto yelled, seemingly at random, and punched a fist into the air.

A few seconds passed, he froze, looked about him, and sweatdropped. Sasuke and Sakura looked at him weirdly, eyebrows raised. And so were about a dozen other Genin that Naruto hadn't noticed. He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. Inside, he hissed at the Kyuubi.

"_Thanks for the warning, Musha," _He growled sarcastically. He could almost see the Bijuu's gleeful grin.

"_**You're welcome, Fishcake!" **_

'_Jackass…' _Sobering up quite quickly, Naruto took a discreet glance around the crowd. He immediately froze when his gaze found a flash of green spandex. _'Oh…Kami…' _His eyes went wide as he recognized the orange legwarmers and bowl cut. He knew Gai had a student, but not one as extreme as this! _'Save me! There's two of them! Musha-!'_

The Bijuu just cackled. _**"Revenge! That's what you get for calling me idiotic names! A mini Gai, ha! I couldn't think of anything better. You're on your own, Kit."**_ Naruto felt Musha retreat into his cage, and knew he wouldn't get any more out of him.

'_Damn Kitsune…'_

Naruto turned his attention to the group in front of him, where Sasuke was talking to two mean-looking boys blocking the doorway. He moved forwards to hear what they were saying.

"Stop playing dumb, we know this only the second floor."

'_Eh…-?'_With a glance, Naruto spied the sign above the door. _'It says we're on the third, though… Matte!' _Naruto scowled, _'Dammit, genjutsu. Just what the hell are these guys trying to pull?' _That's when Sasuke decided enough was enough and swung a kick as the genjutsu was released. Just as it happens, in that same moment, Naruto got a better look at the two boys standing before the door. _'Huh? Is that… Henge?' _

"Oh, for the love of—!" Naruto rolled his eyes. With a soft 'tch', he stepped forwards and caught Sasuke by the arm of his shirt, shifting the Uchiha's momentum. "Sasuke! Don't be an idiot and show off. Let's just walk around them."

Shrugging his shirt out of Naruto's grip and righting himself, Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at him. "Since when were you one for doing things the easy _subtle_ way, Dobe?" he asked. Nonetheless, Sasuke took his advice and made to push past the two boys and through the door, followed by Sakura and Naruto.

"Matte."

"Huh?" Turning in the doorway, Naruto looked back to see Mini-Gai addressing Sasuke. With a small shudder, Naruto realized the Bowl-Cut Boy was dragging his two teammates in toe; a brown-eyed girl and a boy brunette.

"What?" Sasuke asked callously, raising an eyebrow in his usual 'hurry-up-so-I-don't-have-to-be-seen-talking-to-you' gesture.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Stop being impolite, Teme," the blonde imputed helpfully and grinned cheekily. His sudden speech, though, caused the older brunette in the other team to glance at him, and Naruto suddenly caught a glimpse of pale, pale eyes. He felt his words catch in his throat and he felt a snarl rise up. _'…Hyuuga.' _He glanced the boy up and down, taking note of his appearance and posture. His gaze lingered a second longer upon the hitai-ate, before dismissing it._ 'One of those suck-up ones as well…' _He concluded.

The blonde turned to his teammates, "Come on, let's go, guys. We're going to be late!" With that, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura proceeded up to the third floor, completely forgetting that they had been asked to wait. However, it seemed that the other team hadn't forgotten, because Naruto and his two companions were headed off a short time later by the boy Hyuuga Neji, who was the teammate of the Genin dubbed Mini-Gai.

After a brief encounter with Neji, where he asked Sasuke his name, (Naruto now knowing Neji's teammate was called Rock Lee), and an even briefer encounter with Gai himself (Naruto and Sekimusha almost died of horror after contact with the real thing), Team 7 found their way to the registration room, where Kakashi was waiting for them outside.

"Yo!" As usual, their sensei's eye was upturned in a smile. "Glad to see you could all make it! Especially you, Sakura."

"Huh?" She deadpanned.

Naruto took pity on her for once. He put on an air as if he was explaining the meaning of life to a slow child. "I think it's like our Genin test, where we have to pass as a team instead of individuals."

"Oh!" Sakura said, and then she seemed to register that Naruto had deduced something smart. (Hence the weird looks from Sasuke and Kakashi). "—Baka! I knew that!"

It was Naruto's turn to deadpan. _'Suuure you did…'_ "Hey, hey!" Naruto suddenly pouted and pointed an accusing finger at his sensei. "That means you lied to us, Sensei, _again_!"

In response, Kakashi scratched the side of his head in mock-bashfulness and smiled at them. "Well…Yes. But I had good reason to!" Kakashi explained. "If I had said it was a team effort, you boys might have pushed Sakura into it, and that wouldn't be good for her or the team."

Two of the three kids made an enlightened "Ooh!" noise, while Sasuke just 'Hn'-ed, as per his usual response to anything that didn't involve fighting.

"But!" The Hatake continued enthusiastically. "You're all here, so not to worry!" He gave them the thumbs up to show his approval before waving to the door. "Yosh! Now, proud team of mine, go forth and—! What?" He stopped himself mid-sentence, for all three Genin had suddenly shuddered, with Sakura and Naruto turning slightly green.

"…That started to sound like something Maito Gai would say…" Naruto explained, shuddering some more and glancing around suspiciously for any signs of Konoha's Green beast.

Kakashi shuddered mentally at the thought of becoming Gai, even if only slightly. _'I gotta stay away from him. God forbid, I start yelling about the flames of youth.'_ Regaining his composure, he smiled happily. "Oh! You know Gai!"

"We…just met him…" Naruto said, still looking around feverishly, expecting said spandex-wearing Taijutsu expert to jump out at any moment.

With another chuckle, Kakashi whipped out his book, ignoring Naruto's disgusted look directed at the orange cover, and waved them towards the door. "Never mind that now. Off you go!"

Walking forwards, as if counting to three, Naruto and Sakura opened the doors simultaneously, as they did before, and, flanking Sasuke, the three of them strolled in.

Inside the room, everyone turned their heads towards the opening doors. The tension in the atmosphere grew heavier as some of the older candidates unconsciously leaked killer intent at their arrival, while some of the other candidates purposefully let out their bloodlust, hoping to scare the fresh meat (a.k.a. Team 7).

However, a split second later, the tenseness in the air lifted as everyone saw that their next opponents were just a bunch of weaklings, and they went back to doing whatever they were doing before the three rookie Genin walked in.

Unconsciously, everyone in Team 7 sought out familiar friendly faces amidst the sea of intimidating candidates. As one, they walked across the floor, and as soon as they were spotted, both Kiba and Ino hailed them in sync.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried out happily, latching herself onto him like a leech. "I was starting to think you wouldn't enter—!"

"Ino-Pig! Get your hands off Sasuke-kun!"

The girls where unanimously ignored by everyone else present as Kiba turned to Naruto and Sasuke (who had miraculously escaped Ino's clutches).

"So, you guys decided to enter the exam too! Sweet, all us rookies are together again!"

Shikamaru's voice floated over, "Yeah, including you, unfortunately!"

It wasn't long until the others in Ino and Kiba's teams joined them. Sakura and Ino were still trading insults as Shikamaru and Chouji walked up. Naturally, Shikamaru just sighed, yawned and moved away from the girls, muttering 'troublesome' under his breath as usual.

Instead, both he and Chouji turned to Naruto and Team 7. Shikamaru smirked lazily, "So you three decided to take these Exams as well… What a drag, more competition…"

Naruto grinned right back. "Just you wait, Shikamaru, 'cause I'm gunna kick your troublesome ass!"

Shikamaru scoffed and stated what a ridiculous fact it was, but the disbelief didn't quite reach his eyes.

Naruto's own eyes narrowed a little; he knew that calculating look. The Nara suspected something. However, the blonde could not read him. He didn't know whether Shikamaru suspected (perhaps even knew) that there was more to the blonde than meets the eyes, or if he just speculated that Team 7 was not to be taken lightly. Either way, it meant that he would watch them more carefully, and that was not exactly a good thing for Naruto.

Thankfully, Kiba budged into their conversation with a background yap from Akamaru, who was seated atop the brunette's head like usual. Chouji's eyes wandered over the dog hungrily. Naruto stepped back from the boy warily, afraid that Chouji might like to add a Jinchuuriki to the menu. Kiba took no notice of the Akimichi.

"Still talking with such big words, Naruto? There's no way you're kicking anyone's ass, 'cause everyone here could probably wipe the floor with you!"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched and he turned on Kiba. "What was that, dog bre—"

"Oi, rookies!" A voice cut Naruto off abruptly and the blonde looked up, glaring, to see another candidate walking towards them, adjusting his glasses. "…Would you mind keeping it down? You're starting to piss a few people off." With a smile, the silver haired four-eyes jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "See?"

It was true.

As the Genin looked about them, they saw almost everyone's eyes were directed angrily in their direction. Instinctively, they all drew together into a smaller group.

Blue eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced around in a 'nonchalant' manner, trying to feel for a certain type of chakra that seemed out of place. However, with his own Bijuu asleep, Musha couldn't tell him exactly what to go by, so, subtly, he released a bit of his demonic chakra and spread it across the room. It was so light that only another Bijuu would have been able to sense it. Hopefully, Shukaku was clear enough in the head that he could sense it through his vessel.

As if on cue, Naruto felt a sudden spike in another demonic chakra very close by. To the others in the room, as inexperienced as they were in these areas, they would probably just feel a spike in killing intent.

Satisfied with his find, Naruto's chakra retreated back into his body, and his gaze quickly landed on a team of Sand ninja, where Naruto sensed the Bijuu's aura. Judging by the way the redhead was clutching his forehead with an insane glint in his eyes, Naruto could safely assume that he was the Jinchuuriki of Shukaku; plus, it didn't take a genius to work out that the boy was unstable. Besides, the way his two teammates were staring at him in alarm just confirmed Naruto's theories.

He would definitely have to pay the team a visit sometime in the future, not to mention keeping a wary eye on them, so that they would not cause any trouble. At least Naruto had a vague idea how Shukaku fought – the gourd on the Suna shinobi's back was probably filled with sand, he reasoned, the Ichibi being a Bijuu from Suna and all.

Sighing, Naruto tried to inform his own Bijuu at the turn of events. _"Musha!" _He was greeted by a snore._ "Sekimusha!" _Yet, another snore._ "Sekimusha no baka!"_

"—the hell are you?" Naruto's ears picked up the rise in Kiba's voice and tuned into the conversation just as the Inuzuka spoke out. The older Leaf ninja adjusted his specs, making them flash in the florescent lighting. Naruto caught a glimpse of his eye behind the glasses as he did so, and shuddered.

"Who, moi?" The older shinobi smiled again. "Kabuto. That's me."

A moment later, Naruto's eyes narrowed as realization hit. _'Kabuto… Until now, I hadn't noticed your familiar scent or recognized your evasive tone…' _He felt his jaw clench._ '…Why? Why do you feel so much like a snake?-!' _

'_It can't possibly be…' _The blonde breathed in deeply, feeling the scent set his nostrils flaring. '_There are only two people that should have this scent… The traitor, Orochimaru, and his former apprentice, Mitarashi Anko; so, why, Kabuto…-?' _Naruto felt his fingers itch._ 'Looks like I've got to be wary of _this_ one as well.'_

"A few words of warning, rookies," the albino smiled a curling smile, oblivious to Naruto's discomfort. "Watch your step around these people."

"What do you mean?" Sakura frowned. Kabuto fixed her with a look before nodding behind her.

"Those ninja behind you, Ame shinobi; Rain ninja are notorious for their extremely short tempers." Sakura gulped and Hinata, who had been standing behind Kiba unnoticed, started fiddling with her fingers in her usual gesture. Seeing this, Kabuto smiled bitterly. "And you see over there?" He waved behind him. "That team lurking in the corner; they're from Kirigarkure, the village Hidden in the Mist. Anger them, and I guarantee wannabe hotshots like yourselves'—" A pointed glance at 'idiot' Naruto. "—Are dead."

Sasuke and Sakura both reacted at the village name, remembering their encounter with the Mist Demon Zabuza not too long ago. Naruto, however, glanced past Kabuto's shoulder to the corner he indicated, spotting said Mist ninja. The two that Naruto could see clearly glared back, a noticeable spike in bloodlust commencing. Their third teammate took no notice, however, as they leaned against the wall, a hood pulled low over their eyes, casting their features into shadow. At a sharp word from the hidden figure, the other two ninja stood down and looked away.

Naruto felt disgust crawl its way under his skin and up his spine. His fingers itched for a weapon. He'd heard all about the former graduation requirements in the Mist village, even before meeting Zabuza. He felt a snarl rise in his throat. _'Where was the proof that those requirements had been fully removed?'_

"_**Kit, stop gettin' so worked up… 'm tryin' ta sleep…"**_

Naruto was about to retort, when his thoughts were punctured by yet another snore. His eye twitched for what felt like the ten hundredth time in five minutes. While his thoughts wandered aimlessly, his attention was brought back to the group yet again as Kabuto drew out a pack of cards.

"With these cards, I've managed to collect data upon almost every single candidate in these Chuunin Exams, including you!" He smiled at their surprised faces. "Look, by passing my chakra into these cards, I can show you how many teams have come from each country, and even their overall country's average skill levels!"

After demonstrating, he continued, "See, there are about fifty teams from Konoha participating, which is only natural as we're holding the Exams this year. All the other teams from different lands are hand picked elites, the ones most likely to become Chuunin from their villages!"

Sasuke asked, "Do you have info on individuals?"

Kabuto chuckled, "So, there are people you're worried about? Of course, the info I have on them isn't perfect, but I do have it. So, ask away."

Sasuke replied instantly. "Sabaku no Gaara of Sunagakure and Rock Lee of Konohagakure."

"Oh, you even know their names. That'll be easy then." With a swipe of Kabuto's hand, two cards detached form the pile.

Sasuke looked at them in anticipation, "Show me."

"Okay," Kabuto intoned. "First up is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Mission history: 20 D-ranks and 12 C-ranks. His sensei is Maito Gai, and his teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten. His Taijutsu is superb, while the rest is nothing special. Last year, he gained attention as a talented new Genin, but he didn't participate in the exam. Like you guys, this is also his first time in the Chuunin exams."

Without hesitation, Kabuto moved right on as he held up another card and continued, "Next is Sabaku no Gaara. Mission history: 8 C-rank and 1 B-rank." The older shinobi paused in appraisal. "Quite impressive. It's almost unheard of to have a Genin with no D-rank missions, and yet completing a B-rank. Since he's a new comer from a foreign country, I don't have much info on him, but it seems that he returned from all his missions without a scratch."

"_**That makes sense,"**_ interrupted a voice only Naruto could hear._** "After all, Shukaku hates pain, so he probably gave his vessel some kind of absolute defense."**_

"_Musha?-! When did you wake up?"_

"_**When that snake guy started talking about Mini-Gai."**_

"_Oh." _Naruto paused for a second, before realizing something._ "Hey, how did you know who was Shukaku's vessel that fast?-! I had to let out some chakra to find out!"_

Sekimusha simpered in reply. _**"Unlike you, I'm the almighty Bijuu no Ou." **_

"_Show off."_

"_**Well, at least, I **_**have**_** some thing to show off, unlike you!"**_

As usual for these kinds of situations, (meaning Sekimusha got into his 'I'm the almighty' mode), Naruto ignored him and went on listening to Kabuto.

"-like Gaara and Lee, they are the top elite Genin from their respective villages."

There was a short silence among the rookies as they all soaked in the meaning of those words, of how strong their competition was. The only one seemingly unaffected by this tidbit of information was, of course, Naruto. Hey, so what if he knew how to handle these people? He put on a wide grin. "Wow, Kabuto!" He exclaimed. "You sure have a lot of data about other people. If I didn't know better, then I'd say that you're a spy or something!"

Kabuto laughed, waving away Naruto's comment, seemingly as disbelieving as Naruto. Only the more observant ones (a.k.a. Naruto, his tenant and a certain pineapple-haired ninja) noticed Kabuto's suspicious unease before he answered, "Well, I really should have a lot of data, seeing as this is my seventh time in the Chuunin exams."

Kiba laughed, "Wow, you must suck to fail so many times!"

The albino did not reply to that. However, there was a strange glint in his eyes, as if he knew a large secret that the others did not. Naruto frowned curiously as he caught the look.

A flash from the corner of Naruto's eye distracted him, and he turned his head to see the three Sound shinobi flying towards Kabuto, weapons at the ready.

In the nick of time, Kabuto spied the attacks and managed to dodge a hasty swing from the mummy-man. The albino grinned in triumph as everyone sighed in relief, only to have his glasses shatter and glass chink against the hard floor. Luckily, none of it went into his eyes.

The room went silent.

Naruto watched in confusion. _'But… didn't he dodge it?'_

"_**Sound waves, Kit. They're from Oto. They're attacks have got to have something to do with sound. A high frequency made Kabuto's glasses shatter—"**_

He was interrupted by a retching sound and Naruto crinkled his nose in disgust. '_Ew.'_

"—_**And made him throw up."**_

Moments later, Naruto felt a slight spike in chakra somewhere near them, and as Sakura helped Kabuto to his feet, a puff of smoke clouded the room.

"**All you worthless SOB's, shut up**!"

Many people in the room jumped at the voice that issued from the smoke. Naruto, on the other hand, groaned. _'I know that voice…'_

The smoke cleared. "And you Sound ninja! Stop messing around! You want to be disqualified?-!"

The Kyuubi Bijuu chuckled inside his vessel. _**"Morino Ibiki, no less.**_**"**

Sure enough, not only Ibiki, but about a dozen other Chuunin proctors stood at the front of the room, awaiting the start of the first exam. Naruto felt like throwing a tantrum. _'Head of ANBU's Torture and Interrogation Unit… Kuso! Why him?-! What the hell kind of mind torture has he got planned for us?-!'_

At the front of the room, Ibiki smirked, smugness clear on his face. "First, I want you all to come forward and pick a number for your seating arrangement." He held up a small tab with '1' emblazoned on it. "Then… We will hand out the written exam."

'_A …written exam…-?' _Naruto blinked, processing the information. _' …Written?_' The Jinchuuriki's voice echoed around the dead room. "_**Goddamn it!**_**" **

Kotetsu, who was kind of a friend of Naruto's, just waved the papers at him, and laughed.

Minutes later, Naruto was still sulking as he moved forwards to take a number from Ibiki. (Kotetsu had continued to laugh at him, saying it was pay pack for making him chase Naruto all over Konoha for his pranks; which, coincidently, was how they first became friends).

Glaring at nothing in particular, Naruto reached out to take one. He was beat to it, however, as the number was snagged by another person. They leant forward past Naruto to take it; a pale, slender arm brushed past Naruto's own tanner and more muscular one. Surprised, Naruto turned to the person, only to find the cloaked Mist ninja turning away without a sound.

Naruto blinked. As they brushed past him, he could've sworn he smelt an oddly familiar scent; an oddly familiar scent that, no matter how hard he tried, he could find the reason why he remembered it. Turning back to the proctor, Naruto took the next number without a word. He didn't care that Ibiki was raising an eyebrow at him questioningly; Naruto was too busy trying to remember just why that scent felt so familiar.

With a shrug and a sigh, Naruto went to find his seat, shaking it off as nothing but a weird moment of déjà vu.

He glared long and hard at the paper in front of him, his hand jerking angrily as he wrote his name, muttering under his breath. Nearly all the people who saw him knew he was still sulking. (Only Gaara and Neji had no idea that he was sulking, due to their severe holier-then-thou/antisocial attitudes. Lee, on the other hand, thought he was just eager to start the test. Naruto was surprised Ibiki didn't try and sedate the Blue Beast).

"Papers face down until I give the signal." Ibiki exclaimed, rapping his piece of chalk on the board. "Now listen up!" Everyone stopped murmuring and paid close attention to the imposing proctor. "There are a few big rules that pertain to this first test. I'll write them on the blackboard and explain them all, but I'm not taking questions, so listen carefully. I will say this only _once_."

Naruto rolled his eyes. _'He's just loving this…'_

"Rule number one! Each one of you starts out here with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth one point. For each question you get wrong, we subtract a point from your score. Get all ten correct, and you retain the ten points you have."

The others nodded to themselves. That sounded reasonable.

"Rule number 2," Ibiki continued. "This written test is still a team event. Passing or failing will be determined by the sum of the points held by all three members of each cell. The object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from its joint thirty-point total."

A few gasps were heard. From his enhanced hearing, Naruto could tell that one of them was Sakura.

"Rule number three, if, during the exam, a candidate does anything out of the ordinary – in other words, anything that leads the proctors to determine that he or she has cheated – we would subtract two points from each member of the cheater's team."

Gasps of fear went around the room as people started to fidget.

Kotetsu laughed impishly from where he was sitting at the side, drawing everyone's fearful attention to him. He held up his clipboard and pointed his pen towards them. "I'll be looking over your shoulders when you _least_ expect it." He laughed, caught Naruto's eye, and laughed some more.

Naruto felt the sudden urge to growl, glaring at the Chuunin. _'Smug bastard…'_

Ibiki smirked, "If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring both yourself and your team down! If you aspire to be Chuunin… if you want to be the best shinobi you can be… then you'd better start acting like you already are!" He punched the blackboard for emphasis. "Oh…and, one more thing; if any individual looses all ten of his or her points, that person's entire cell, regardless of how the other two members do, will be disqualified!"

"What?-!" There were a few scattered shouts of dismay. Among those few was Naruto, except he was shouting mentally.

"Shut it!" Ibiki silenced them. "You have one hour. …Starting… **NOW**!"

Instantly, sounds of papers flipping and pens scribbling filled the room.

Sighing in frustration at the amount of stupid rules, Naruto glanced through his paper, his jaw clenching harder and harder as he worked his way down the paper. As he reached the bottom, he let the paper slip through his grasp and float down to the tabletop.

'_I. __Hate__. Tests.'_ He could hear Musha laughing at him in his mindscape. _'That damn Ibiki! I can't answer all these questions!'_

There was a moment in which Naruto just started blankly at the paper. After a few seconds, Naruto growled mentally, _'That's it! I've had it with the stupid rules. Like hell I'm going to listen to that guy! All I need to do is to make sure he doesn't know I'm cheating.'_

Musha laughed again, which prompted Naruto to snap at him, _"What, Musha?-!" _He could almost see the smirk curling the Bijuu's mouth.

"_**Kit. Use your head. Don't you think that's what Ibiki **_**wants **_**you to do?" **_

Naruto just blinked. _"But it's a _test _why would he want us to…-?" _

Ibiki's words floated back to him. '_If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring both yourself and your team down! If you aspire to be Chuunin… if you want to be the best shinobi you can be… then you'd better start acting like you already are!' _

And then it clicked. _"Oh! That bastard! Well. I guess cheating's okay then."_

Musha sighed mentally, _**'That slow idiot.'**_

"_I heard that kitsune no baka!"_

The Bijuu sweatdropped inwardly. _**'Oops, I said that out loud?'**_

Naruto just shook his head at the kitsune, and turned back to his test. _'Okay, now what should I do…?' _As usual, he drew a blank. His current main jutsu, namely Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, wasn't 'stealthy' in the slightest, and any sneaky sorts of jutsu he would usually use in this sort of situation were far above Genin level.

If he used one of them and Ibiki spotted him (which was more likely than not, seeing that the Jounin's level was obviously higher than his own, as of yet), his whole cover could be blown. Naruto sighed, he was stuck; but there was still no way in all the seven hells he was going to ask that damn Kyuubi what to do!

The blonde looked around, hoping to get some ideas. However, he had completely forgotten the fact that if _he_ could figure out so easily how the other examinees were cheating, then there was a very high chance that the examiners could do so as well. What really ticked him off was the fact that he didn't know how good the cheats had to be in order for the examiners to 'not notice'. Naruto sighed.

'_Let's face it. The proctors are a higher class than us Genin are. Of _course_,_ _they're going to spot most, if not all, of our cheats. It's the effectiveness and how noticeable our tactics are that they're marking us on – or, in this case, _not _marking us on and pretending to look the other way.' _

"_**Kit." **_Musha butted in. _**"You're not going to spot any of the successful cheats by just looking round like an idiot. Just stop, slow down, and actually **_**look****. **_**Don't be in such a hurry to find a technique you can use.**_**"**

So Naruto sighed, stopped glancing around, and instead focused upon each candidate, assessing their methods. To his chagrin, Naruto found that once he slowed down, he could indeed pick out the more effective cheats people were using.

"_**See Kit." **_The Bijuu uttered smugly._** "I don't see why you don't ask for my help more often. I'm obviously wiser than you are, in all my years of existence. With brains like these sealed inside you, it's a wonder you're still stupid."**_

"_Oi!" _Naruto scowled. _"I'm not gunna thank you, you egotistical fox! You're only smart 'cause you're _old_! No, I take that back. I meant,_ **ancient**_!"_

"_**Why you little—!"**_

Elsewhere, a group of Naruto's Kage Bunshin – all disguised as either a powerless civilian or a small animal, like a wren – were scouting around Konoha, as per the original's orders. One Kage Bunshin was wandering round near the tourist attractions of Konoha, disguised as a small boy.

'_Wow!' _he thought in surprise. _'There are a lot more foreigners than I've first thought.' _Then a thought struck him, and he growled jealously, _'Then again, it's probably because they wanted to see the __last__ Uchiha's match. Humph, that stupid bastard!' _He stopped short on his inner-ranting, to glance around further, and he had to ponder on the thought:_ 'I wonder why there are so many sound and sand ninjas around here…'_

Elsewhere, the fifty Kage Bunshin with the least amount of chakra were disguised as native birds of Konoha, flying around the forest and village, searching for juicy details.

Alighting on a fence post, one bird overheard the beginnings of a conversation between three girls: "You know, I heard that Sasuke-sama likes blondes," giggled a blonde.

"No way!" exclaimed the girl's companion, running her fingers through her own darker hair. "He definitely likes brunettes. I mean, have you ever heard of an Uchiha with blonde hair and bright eyes?"

"But my other friend says she heard Sasuke-sama say it himself!" argued the blonde pointedly. "Why would she lie?"

"Maybe your 'friend' just got her facts wrong! There's no way Sasuke-kun would be interested in a blonde bimbo like you!"

"What did you just call me?-!"

The bird above gave a snicker-like tweet as the two girls began to bicker.

"—Oh, he has such dreamy eyes," sighed the third girl suddenly, obviously lost in her own world, and oblivious to her friends' argument.

After a another moment, when the argument showed no signs of stopping, the Kage Bunshin flew quickly from the area, not wanting to know about how _handsome_ and _dreamy_ Sasuke was in their eyes. As the clone flew away, he had to wonder if Sasuke knew how many arguments were fought over him.

Thinking harder, the clone wouldn't be surprised if the bastard _had_ actually said he liked blondes, just to start an argument, regardless of whether it was the truth or not. The Naruto-bird-clone hoped not – _he _was blonde too, after all! And as the Uchiha lacked any outward interest in girls, fangirls or otherwise, there was a high possibility in Naruto's mind of Sasuke being gay. (Then again, this may be because Naruto had never even heard of the word 'asexual'.)

Meanwhile, flying over Konoha's hot springs, another bird was just in time to hear a perverted giggle – one similar to the giggle Team 7 often heard from Kakashi. Curious, and delighted to be able to cause some trouble, he alighted on a tree located nearest the sound's origin.

Peering through the tree's branches, to a bush not far down below, the clone saw a peculiar sight. The shrubbery creating a small portion of the barrier between the women's hot springs and the rest of the world seemed to have grown a large, white ponytail. It also seemed to have acquired a rather high-pitched, perverse giggle.

Instantly, one word popped out in his mind: _'Pervert.'_

Bird-Clone frowned, and emitted what could pass as a disgruntled tweet. Naruto hated perverts. Suddenly, his face brightened, and had he been in a cartoon, a light bulb would have appeared over his head. He would teach the old, dirty pervert a lesson!

With a brilliant idea in mind, the Bird-Clone took off excitedly, flying towards the origin of chakra that was another nearby Naruto clone. As the clone, disguised as a small boy, came into view, the Bird-clone immediately dispelled itself, making sure to indicate it would be that boy-clone that would carry out his plan. Instantly, every Naruto, both original and clones, knew about the pervert and the plan that the ex-bird-Naruto-clone thought up.

The genuine Naruto sighed out loud in the middle of the test, drawing funny looks from his neighbouring Genin and examiners. He ignored them, and rolled his eyes, thinking, _'Couldn't that clone just hide himself in the toilet or something and then transform instead of making me loose a clone for something as irrelevant as this?'_

Unaware of real-Naruto's light exasperation, the appointed clone began to move towards the onsen, a grin curling his face and identical to the one that appeared when the real Naruto had a prank in mind. The clone walked towards the scene of crime, extracting a piece of parchment (that was practically everything-proof, just in case) and a pen with waterproof ink (he always knew it would come in handy one day) from his back pocket.

He kept them there for writing down prank ideas, interesting information and the like, as he never knew when one of his (practically genius, or so he thought) plots would strike him upside the head. Scribbling an incriminating note on it, Naruto tied it to a stone and threw it into the woman's hot spring area. Then he sat back, and waited for the show to begin.

The unprepared women screeched in surprise when a rock sailed passed the fence, through the air, and somehow landed right into the middle of a wooden bucket; for a second, they all just stared at it dumbly, before one of the nearer ones picked it up, unfolded the note, and read it out loud.

"_To Whom It May Concern (namely, the undoubtedly pretty ladies enjoying the hot springs),_

_There is an old man, with long white hair and wearing reddish clothing, giggling once in a while in a very weird way outside the hot springs. He's staring through the fence with an eyepiece, and hiding in the area where the trees are. He's most probably a pervert, so I'd get dressed if I were you."_

For a second, there was absolute silence, and all the women gaped at each other. Then, suddenly, killing intent burst forth. It seemed that it was the pervert's unlucky day; not only was he spotted by Naruto (a clone of Naruto to be precise), who hated perverts; but there were also quite a few kunoichi in the hot springs. Angry growls and the sound of metal and flesh meeting flesh erupted, followed by girly screams of pain.

Naruto smiled satisfactorily and walked away.

Elsewhere, outside the metal fence that surrounds a dangerous looking forest was another clone. He crept silently along the edge of the forest, alert to any foreboding noises from within. It was hard to put your trust in a rusty, flimsy metal fence when there were creatures behind it that were as big as a house. Nonetheless, there was nothing out of the ordinary for him to see.

A twig snapped. The clone jumped, and immediately whipped out a kunai into his steady hand.

"Naruto?"

The clone stiffened at his name, but then turned. He let out a small, relieved exhale when he found himself face to chest with a familiar someone.

"Aren't you meant to be at the exam today, shrimp?"

Meanwhile, while all this was happening, the real Naruto was still stuck in the exam, and the Kyuubi still rabbiting on in his mind.

"_**How many times, Fishcake?-! I am **_not _**old! At least, not compared to my own kind! So I won't have you—! Hey! You listening?-! Oi!" **_

With the air of one who had done it many times, the blonde just professionally tuned the other's voice out and focused upon the more pressing matter before him – how to cheat and not get caught within the remaining time, which unfortunately was not a lot! Let's face it; he wasn't exactly the stealthiest person when it comes to things like this. But pranks on the other hand…

Unconsciously, a foxy grin stretched across his face as all of his successful pranks come to mind, making the proctors who noticed it stare at him; those who knew what it meant looked at him warily. Naruto took no notice, and simply stared off into space, recalling his successful pranks (and some of them not-so-successful) with a glazed expression.

Occasionally, he let out a small chuckle (Musha, however, later swore he was giggling like a little girl), that made those who knew him well like Kotetsu shift suspiciously in their seat, surreptitiously checking for any nearby pranks.

Suddenly, however, a voice jerked the blonde from his daydreams and caught the attention of everyone in the room, cutting through the silence with an apologetic tone.

"—Excuse me, but I need to go to the toilet."

A voice cut through Naruto's mental tantrum, and the blonde turned to look at the speaker, as did most of the candidates around him. Naruto realised,_ 'Hey, isn't that Gaara's brother?'_

To his right, one of the proctors nodded, "But one of us has to follow you."

As if on cue, another Chuunin rose from his chair. "I'll go," he said monotonously.

As the duo walked out through the door, a small breeze swept into the room; it was light enough to not be noticed, but it was strong enough to catch the attention of Naruto's sharp nose.

'_Hey, isn't that the scent of wood? Why would the proctor smell like wood?' _After thinking about it for a few second, it hit him. _'That's not fair! Paint-head got one of his puppets as a proctor!'_

"_**Or he uses 'Pine-Fresh' aftershave."**_

"_Be serious, Musha!"_

"_**I am being serious!"**_There was a short pause. _**"But you're probably right."**_

Looking around, the blonde noticed that many teams were already gone. He whistled quietly under his breath. _'This exam's sure been rough on them. That damn Ibiki, forcing them under this pressure.'_

"_**Yeah, but it's to test their abilities, kit. It's for their own good."**_

At Musha's words, a disturbed look crossing over Naruto's face. _"…Musha…"_ he said slowly, _"Is that a mothering tone I hear?"_

"_**Erm… No?"**_

An awkward silence fell inside Naruto's mindscape. However, on the outside, sounds of pencils scratching upon paper were heard all over the room. Surprisingly, it was once again Sekimusha who broke the overbearing quietness.

"_**How long does that kid need to take a whiz? If he takes this long on a real mission, the enemy's bound to know something's wrong."**_

Naruto sighed. _"Musha, you're doing it again."_

"_**What?"**_

"_Stop mothering complete strangers, dammit!"_

Musha almost whined. _**"I'm not mothering him! I'm just criticizing his techniques! Mini Gai and his teammate, not the Hyuuga of course, really need some help in stealth as well. Who's **_**not **_**going to notice you're craning your head upwards all the time? —See, criticism!"**_

"_Uh huh, sure. He'll be back any minute, so stop giving everyone _else_ pointers, and help _me_!__**" **_

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the teen returned, and walked by Temari as he slipped her a small piece of rolled up paper.

"Have you finished playing with your doll?" asked Ibiki. Without giving him a chance to answer, he continued, "You're lucky. You came back just in time for the tenth question.

"_Say what?-!" _exclaimed Naruto. He started to panic, _"But I haven't written down anything yet!"_

The blonde could hear Sekimusha's laughter echoing within his mind.

"_Shut __**up**__, Musha!__It's not funny damm— eh?" _Naruto suddenly paused, frowning.

"_**What is it, Kit?"**_

Naruto's frown deepened, and instead of answering the demon lord, he just closed his eyes in concentration. Musha growled low in concern. Naruto _never _concentrated, not unless it was about learning a new jutsu.

"_**Kit?"**_

Naruto just shushed him. Sekimusha did as asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. After sitting like that for a minute more, the blonde opened his eyes. _'It's faint,' _he thought to himself._ 'Too faint for Genin to pick up.'_

"_**What is?"**_

"_That… chakra spike, Musha, feel it?"_

Indeed, once Naruto pointed it out, Musha _could _sense it. That, and also…

"_Oi, isn't it…familiar?" _Naruto seemed to be frowning in thought. _"Do you recognize it Musha? I can't remember where…"_

Musha thought for a moment, focusing on the chakra signature. He hesitated. _**"…No, Kit. I don't. It's probably just your imagination." **_

"_Oh…Okay. It's just…"_

"_**What?"**_

"…_Never mind." _Naruto turned back to his test. _"Musha, now what the fuck am I going to do about _thi_s?-!_"

"Get ready for the tenth question, you wimps." Ibiki called out, cutting off any chance Naruto had at starting his paper. A string of curse words issued quietly from Naruto's mouth. Ibiki shot him a funny look. "—But, before we get to the question itself, you must choose whether or not to do that question."

"C-choose?" a girl's voice spoke up from the back. "What did you mean by that?"

Ibiki smirked. "If you choose to not do it, your team will fail automatically, regardless of your previous scores on the first part of this exam."

A talkative murmur ran through the young shinobi. A boy cried out, "Like hell we'll not do it!" Mutters of agreement followed.

"—On the other hand," The Interrogations expert raised his voice slightly to call for quiet, cutting off the whispers, "if you choose to do the question and get it wrong…" Ibiki trailed off for a few seconds, gazing round at them sternly. "—You and your teammates are barred from entering any Chuunin exams ever again." A pause, and then:

"_**What**_?-!" Kiba exclaimed. "That is absolutely ridiculous! You can't do that to us! I know that there are people here who have sat the Chuunin exams more than once! There's no way you can forbid us from entering again!"

"Yeah!" Another ninja agreed.

"You can't do that!"

"That's right!"

A small uproar followed.

"Well, tough luck!" shouted Ibiki. Everyone quieted down immediately. "In this part of the exam, my rules are absolute. So, the rules of the past do not apply in here unless I say so. If you don't like it, you can always fail now and do it again a few months later, where, hopefully for you, I'm not the examiner."

'_Fat chance. He's loving this; of course he'll do it again next year.' _Naruto thought.

Silence enveloped the room as the Genin thought about whether or not they should continue on.

After a pregnant pause, the room filled with uncertain apprehension, a hand shakily rose up into the air, soon followed by a teen, who hung his head low in shame. "I'm sorry, Akito. I'm sorry, Shiromaru. I… I just can't do it. I give up."

Ibiki nodded. "Leave," he dismissed. Two males got up silently, without protest, and followed the teen out of the room, comforting him.

And then, the flood gates seemed to open, and just like domino pieces, one by one hands rose as other Genin abstained, saying that they also give up.

Naruto watched the people leave in silence. '_I won't raise my hand. I know Ibiki's game.' _With that thought in mind, the blonde settled back into his seat, averting his gaze to his blank test paper. In the back of the room, someone coughed.

A small, sudden breeze from the open doors brought many scents to Naruto's sharp nose. He repressed the urge to snarl. He hated the scent of fear; a mixture of sweat, stale breath, and icy blood turned cold from fright. Along with the fear came the scents of the people who produced it. There were so many unsure Genin, Naruto realized, so many were afraid. The pungent scent pierced his nose sharply, heightening his senses involuntarily.

Out of all of the scents, though, only one was important enough to stand out in Naruto's brain – the scent of Sakura's fear. Naruto's eyes went wide, and the blonde looked back immediately.

Sweating from fear, Sakura slowly raised her shaking hand. Naruto could almost see the mantra whirling about her head. _'I can't do this; I can't do this; I can't— What if I fail? What will Sasuke-kun and Naruto say? I can't do this to them! I can't do this!' _And for once, Naruto took pity on her.

He sighed, _'She's bloody insufferable some times, but…'_

Before Sakura's hand could reach up beyond her forehead, one of her teammates had already shot up his hand and stood up.

Those who knew him, whether by his stubbornness or his hidden power, looked at him in only mild surprise. Everyone else gazed upon him with wide eyes.

'_What the hell is he doing?' _Sasuke thought.

Slamming his hand on the desk hard, ignoring the weird looks he was receiving and the 'raised eyebrow look' from Kotetsu, Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki exclaimed, "Only cowards would give up so quickly! And I'm no coward! So, give me your worse, Ibiki!" Naruto stood for a second, breathing in a deep breath, almost as if wanting to say more. Before he did, however, he decided against it, thumping back down into his chair, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Humph!"

Blinking, Ibiki looked around. Everyone was sitting up straight, confidence clearly shown within their eyes.

He smirked inwardly,_ 'That Naruto…'_

Naruto glanced discreetly over his shoulder back towards Sakura. Truth be told, he didn't know what the hell he had to say to make her feel better, but it seemed to have worked. She caught his eye and smiled thinly, a little strained, but the gratefulness was there. Naruto felt his own smile tug at the corners of his lips.

"_**And then Ibiki looked around the room after the blonde's little outburst—"**_

Naruto blanched. "_Musha, no! Not the narration!"_

"—_**To see if any other candidates would fail. (Just lightening the mood, Fishcake!)—" **_

"_Mushaaaa! Stop it!"_

"_**However, it seemed that the blonde's words had shattered the doubt and fear in the hearts of the other candidates—"**_

"—_Thanks for making me feel like a pansy—"_

"—_**And no more Genin looked as if they would break under his pressure. You **_are_** a pansy, Kit."**_

Naruto groaned silently. He had the distinct feeling that Kotetsu knew what was going on in his head, and was silently laughing at him from across the room. Naruto fought very hard against the not-so-better judgment of flipping Kotetsu the bird. Instead, he settled for glaring at Kotetsu and mouthing, "Bitch!"

"_**How very manly of you, Naruto. Not pansy-like at all."**_

Both the Chuunin and Kyuubi laughed at the blonde's obviously sulking demeanor. (Not that the latter knew they were, of course).

Ibiki then proceeded to beam round at them. Naruto hastily avoided looking the torture specialist in the face. _'His smiles are… a bit creepy.'_

"Congratulations!" The man exclaimed, perfectly aware of Naruto's discomfort (it only made him smile more). "You've all just passed the first exam!"

Stunned silence filled the air. No one knew what to make of that statement; not even Naruto had a snappy comeback (for once).

Alas, after a few minutes, one brave soul broke the spell with an undignified, "Huh-?"

Suddenly, like a dam that'd been broken, hundreds of questions began pouring out of the examinees' mouths in a fast torrent. Talking filled the room, and scattered laughter could be heard as the Genin called across to their team mates, "Did you hear that?-! We passed!"

"_Silence_!" Ibiki's voice cut through the noise like a scythe, and everyone quieted down, turning to the ANBU interrogator. They listened in surprised silence as he told them the reasoning behind their choices of participation, and how their passing came about.

Naruto stuck out his tongue in thought. _'Now I can see exactly why he's so good at interrogation. He played almost everyone without their knowing! Even me… for the most part.'_

"'_**For the most part' meaning 'Even me, if it wasn't for the helpful hints of the great, widely respected Bijuu-sama, Kyuubi no Kitsune.', of course,"**_ the kitsune said smugly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. _"Whatever floats your boat, _Mush-kun_."_

"_**Oi! Don't call me—!"**_

Naruto cut out his voice.

"_**Fishcake! Are you listening?-! Oi!" **_The widely respected Bijuu was tactfully ignored.

Suddenly, Naruto noticed a familiar chakra signature hurtling closer and closer. Naruto whimpered mentally, _'Please tell me that's not…'_

His gaze snapped to the window, and he immediately spotted a brown bundle flying towards their room. With an almighty crash, the balled object smashed through the window, interrupting Ibiki's speech and frightening most of the Genin (those who had not been able to sense the chakra signature at least, which was most). It unfurled itself as two of the corners were secured to the ceiling by kunai, to reveal…

Nothing. It was blank.

"Anko," Ibiki's voice deadpanned from behind the material a few seconds later, "You're facing the wrong way."

There was an awkward silence, then—

"Screw you, Ibiki! I meant to do that!" The material was thrown aside roughly, and Naruto glimpsed familiar handwriting scrawled across the other side of the cloth before there was a flash of purple and a fluttering brown trench coat. Suddenly, his view was blocked by a pair of big, barely-clothed—

"_**Kit!" **_

"_Whattt-?" _Naruto whined. _"I can't help but look! She's practically throwing them in my face! Indecent woman!"_

Anko waved cheerfully at him from her spot mere inches away, on top of the blonde's desk. The other Genin in the room stared at them in either surprise, jealousy or both; especially the rest of the Konoha nine. The proctors rolled their eyes.

Naruto growled out, "And you could at least button up the trench coat, you hag! You're burning away what little innocence we have left!"

Anko gave him a good whack on the head. "Nice to see you too, brat!" She then proceeded to jump over onto Ibiki's desk with one bounding leap.

Pumping a fist into the air, she shouted, "Alright, you maggots! My name's Mitarashi Anko, and after I'm through with you, you're going to wish you'd never taken this exam!"

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	9. Start of the Everything Gone Wrong

**At last! Sorry for the wait folks, but here's the latest chapter, hot of the press, for your enjoyment!**

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

* * *

**A Fox's Deception  
_Start of the 'Everything Gone Wrong'_**

Awkward silence filled the air, and everyone else just stared at the scantly dressed kunoichi — some out of surprise (most of the Genin), some out of shame of being associated with her (Ibiki, the Chuunin, and Naruto), and some out of sexual desires (a few naughty ninja not to be named) — and she stared back, with a large grin on her face and a leftover dango stick in her mouth.

She grinned toothily at them, ignoring all the stares (but she was probably proud of getting them). In a projecting voice, she announced, "All right, you kiddies! While Ibiki might've gone easy on you, I won't! I'll _make sure_ to cut your numbers by _at least_ a half!" She (along with Naruto, who had been seized in her grasp) disappeared with a swirl of leaves and appeared at the back of the classroom, framed by the formerly closed door. "Now, get off your asses and follow me to your doom!"

There was a short pause of nervous silence, and when no one else moved, she hissed, "Keep up or I'll fail you!" Then she dragged a wriggling Naruto out of the room, and didn't look back.

There was an immediate scramble for the door. Just as the Genin were about to leave, Ibiki called out to the retreating second-proctor, "Don't kill too many of them, Anko, or else it'll be very hard to explain to their respective villages!"

At his words, many of the Genin blanched in fear. However, there were a few whose chakra spiked noticeably from excitement. Sakura, who was trying to catch up to Sasuke in the fray, glanced around nervously as she sensed the disturbance. A shiver ran down her spine.

In a ragtag bundle, the Genin made their way over to the next exam's location. The bloodthirsty laughs that Anko let out from time to time had most of them on edge. From the very beginning of the journey, Naruto was still lodged under her arm; every time he made a bid for freedom, the Jounin would just tighten her grip around his shoulders. (He knew using chakra to try to escape was a lot worse than attempting to free himself by physical means. Although, to be realistic, Anko had him beat in both departments.)

"Now, now, now, Naru-chan. No trying to escape the proctor," she sang happily. "I could easily fail you, you know."

Sasuke and Sakura, catching up behind, looked at the duo, alarmed. If Naruto was failed, then automatically, the whole team would fail.

Naruto glared at her warningly. "You wouldn't dare!" he hissed.

"Just try me, pest!" Anko then adopted a dejected voice and continued, "All I want is a friendly chat with my most favorite Genin in the whole world! You know I like you the most, Naru-chan!"

Naruto scowled. "I'm the _only _Genin you like!" he protested, trying to squirm out of her grip.

With a chuckle, she let him go and brushed imaginary dust off his shoulders. "Fine, fine, fine," she said offhandedly.

The blonde stormed off ahead in a huff (he knew already where they were going, of course) as he muttered obscenities at the woman under his breath.

Smiling pleasantly in a way that promised death, Anko grabbed his collar from behind, effectively choking him. "Sorry, Naru-chan, but _what_ did you just call me?"

Naruto shot her a disgruntled look as he eased his zipper out of his neck. "Witch, Anko. Witch. I called you an evil, Genin-corrupting _w_itch."

Anko laughed, "Okie dokie! But 'bitch' would've been fine too!" Naruto just stared at her dumbly.

Behind them, the other Genin all shot them perplexed glances. In a rare moment of united bewilderment, Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks.

"Anyway, Naruto," Anko said conversationally as she fell into step with the blonde, "what's up with you being in two places at once?"

"Huh?"

"Earlier. One of your clones was skulking around my forest. You get bored of the exam or something?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's 'or something', all right? 'Cause I wasn't exactly _bored_, I was just—"

"So you're saying your incredible short attention span had nothing to do with it?" she grinned knowingly. "Admit it! You were bored out of your mind, weren't you?"

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, yeah, but only for a bit!"

"Ha! I knew it!" Anko cheered victoriously, pumping an arm up in the air. "Ibiki should up the ante of his tests."

"No, no," Naruto assured her, "his tests are just fine, really," he added upon seeing her disbelieving look. "It's _your _tests that I'm not so sure about!"

"Aww, come on, they're not _that _bad!"

"You're a crazy woman! Remember, the last time we sparred, you sent those freakishly _gigantic _snakes after me, laughing as I ran around for my life! What would've happened if I didn't find a stack of explosive tags conveniently stored in my stash, huh? I wouldn't be here today, that's what! And you said that we would be training _lightly_! That was _not_ 'lightly!' They were _poisonous_, I bet!"

Behind them, the Genin just stared at them with different looks on their face — the main three being fear, interest and the 'you're crazy' look. Sasuke, on the other hand, was looking at Naruto in jealously, wondering why the dead last was able to get private training with a Jounin while he could not.

Anko just laughed it off. "You wimp! That _was_ light training. Besides, it's just a baby test compared to this one."

Once again, the Genin behind them were stunned into nervous chatter. Some listened to Naruto and Anko's conversation, hoping to gain some hints on the next exam.

"What've you done to the forest this time, you perverse women?" Naruto demanded.

"…I _may_ have added in a few giant, highly poisonous centipedes just for kicks," Anko admitted, smiling. She was aware of their audience, and rejoiced in the fact that Naruto was too – that way he wouldn't be able to tell if she was speaking the truth, or adding in some extras for the frightened Genin.

Cheerfully, Anko carried on, "That is, of course, along with other fun creatures and plants. After all, it isn't everyday that I get to make my forest an even more exciting place! So you just _know_ I've taken advantage of it to the fullest."

"Seriously? For your own amusement?"

"Yup, just for funsies!"

"I hate you," the blonde scowled.

"Love you too, Naru-chan!"

"And don't call me that! Not unless you want me to call you 'Koko-tan'!"

Naruto was the first one to arrive at their destination via crash landing, head first. Anko had one hell of a punch. Seriously.

It took a few more minutes for everyone else to arrive. In that time, the other proctors for the second exam had finished setting up. (They had been distracted when Naruto made a small crater in the ground beside them).

"Okay, kiddies," Anko announced merrily as the stragglers trudged up to join the group, "welcome to the Forest of Death! The home to many unique and deadly creatures!"

"You got that right," Naruto muttered, "_you _live here." Anko just flipped her finger at him, and the other proctors pretended not to notice.

Beside Naruto, Sakura raised her eyebrows, and in disbelief she asked, "She doesn't really live in there, does she?"

She didn't, and Naruto knew full well she didn't, but for humor he decided to drag it out a little. "Oh… I don't know…" he said, "I just know that, unless she has a mission, I can easily find her by coming here." He grinned to himself, recalling some distant memory. "Not to mention she seems to know every damn nook and cranny in this forest — _and_ is a friend of all the creatures here." He gave a sly grin, glancing sideways to Sakura's lost face. "Do _you _think she lives here?"

Standing off a little to the side, Sasuke frowned at Naruto's familiarity with the crazy Jounin. Jealousy spiked in his gut, and he scowled. He had to find a better Jounin to train him! After all, if a Jounin conceded to training the village idiot, surely someone would be delighted to train him. Besides, what self-respecting Jounin would say no to training the heir of the Uchiha Clan?

There was an awkward, uneasy hush that enveloped the group of Genin as they gathered and waited. Taking her time, reveling in the Genin's discomfort, Anko made her way to stand before them, the forest at her back. Smiling in a sickly sweet way, Anko gestured over her shoulder. "Welcome to my forest, brats. I bet you can't wait for the fun to begin!"

Everyone stared at their next exam's location. The fences were about three stories high, but the looming and crowded trees were even taller. The wind howled through the great boughs of the trees, and the majority of Genin shuddered in fear. Others, however, grinned in anticipation, or raised their eyebrows in disinterest. Rather, Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in disinterest, and Naruto was simply used to the sight.

(Although he did jump slightly when an unexpected shriek issued from the fenced-off darkness; he assumed that a pretty small animal had just been gutted by a really big one. And that thought did little to settle his gut.)

Basking in the Genin's nerves (especially the apprehensive grimace on Naruto's face), Anko grinned widely, and baited the fear. "Oh, and I forgot to mention. Those fences are _not_ for keeping the forest's residents in; they're to keep nosey ninja out. In other words, those flimsy things are just for show."

Anko chuckled at the effect of her words as a small quake trembled through the gathered Genin, and a voice spoke out nervously, "Then what's stopping them from coming out now?-!"

Her grin grew wider, if that was even possible, and she replied, "The real thing that keeps those giants in is the invisible chakra barrier – it's almost impossible to get out of!" Only the more perceptive of the bunch realized that there was a hidden catch to her smile.

The sigh of relief that ran through the aspiring ninja was short lived, for Anko was not finished. "Oh yes, kiddies, that applies to you too. Once you go in, youcan't get out!" Fear arose in the air. She laughed jokingly, "Well, not until you finish the exam, of course!" Everyone always said that Anko had a knack for darkening any mood.

Half an hour later, Team 7 stood outside their designated gate, while an amused Chuunin lounged nearby, all-to-gleefully waiting to let them into the hell hole that was Training Area 44. Naruto kept scowling at him, for the Chuunin was smirking at their obvious misfortune.

'_I so should've seen this coming!' _Naruto berated himself. _'It's _Anko _for God's sake! She's always sadistically ecstatic this time of year – now I know why! She's been sending poor little Genin to their death twice a year!' _Naruto groaned out loud, and Sakura shot him the same suffering glance. Looked like they were both on the same page for once – both of them knew they were screwed! Behind them, the nameless Chuunin laughed. Naruto's scowl deepened.

'_And what the hell?-! Five days with pinky I might, just __**might**__, be able to handle. But with that bastard too?-! Give me a break!' _In the back of his mind, he heard Musha snicker. _"Oh go stuff it, you damn fox!" _The Kyuubi didn't reply, but Naruto could still hear him laughing. _'Aw well, there's really nothing for it now. Already signed that goddamn form, anyway.' _

With strengthened resolve (i.e., his bitching session over), Naruto broke into a confident grin, and pointedly stuck his finger up at the pleased Chuunin. Defiantly, he proclaimed, "Five days is no big deal! Nothing that bitch throws at me will be any worse than what she's done before!"

The Chuunin simply scoffed, laughing some more. "You really think so, kid? Knowing Anko, she'll have cooked something special up just for you!" At his words, Naruto felt his grin waver: the Chuunin had a point — an extremely good point.

The Jinchuuriki let out an exasperated moan, and threw up his arms. "Fuck it! Let's just get this over with already!"

Beside him, Sakura gulped uneasily. Sure, she _wanted _to get the second exam over with, and she _wanted _to pass the Chuunin exams, but she sure _didn't _want to die while trying! Naruto was never really much of a comfort when he was too wrapped up in his own declarations. Sakura felt her hands shaking nervously. _'What's going to happen in there?-!'_

Sasuke, on the other hand, was not panicking at all. He was waiting patiently for the gates to open, inconspicuously checking that their supplied scroll (an Earth Scroll) was still in his pouch, while silently grousing over the fact that he had to spend five whole days with his two lesser team mates. Naruto's voice grew louder as the dobe got more restless, and a vein began to tick angrily in Sasuke's forehead. _'Five more days of this,' _weirdly, he found himself agree with Naruto, _'they better hurry up so we can finish already.'_

For Naruto and Sasuke, Anko's shout of commence couldn't have come soon enough. Chains rattled against the fence as they were dropped to the floor, and with a metallic creak the gates swung inward. The Chuunin waved them happily off, and Naruto gave an exhilarated yell, bounding into the forest with an energized Sasuke and an adrenalin-propelled Sakura on his heels.

As they shot off into the forest depths, Naruto felt all his misgivings slip away to be replaced by a pure, primal excitement. He felt Musha stir within his cage: this might be _fun!_

Five minutes into the forest, however, and the initial surge of excitement had worn off. It was now more of an underlying buzz, Naruto mused, as he crouched amid the dust and dirt, aimlessly doodling in the earth, only half-listening to Sasuke explaining something about a password.

"_**Kid, you should really pay attention**__," _theBijuu prodded, _"__**you're not planning to **_**day-dream **_**your way through this, are you?**__"_

"_Whatever, Musha, listening to Sasuke-teme isn't really riveting, you know."_

"_**I'm sure it isn't, but that's not what I **_**meant**_**." **_

"_Huh? Then what _did _you mean?"_

The Kyuubi sighed in exasperation at the blonde's slip in awareness. _**"Pay attention to **_**ev-ry-thing**_**, baka! You're potentially in enemy territory."**_

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Naruto replied to the beast, _"Well _duh_, I knew that! I am _so_ paying attention! We're totally safe!"_

The Bijuu raised a giant eyebrow, even though Naruto could see him, and enlightened him: _**"Think again, Kiddo."**_

There was a pause in the conversation, and Musha could tell that Naruto was focusing upon their surroundings. Realising what the Kyuubi was talking about, he cursed. _"Oh. Damn."_

Without warning, or so it seemed to Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto stood abruptly and started to look around. The Uchiha was cut off in the middle of his explanation (the one Naruto hadn't been paying attention to), and both gazed up at Naruto, surprised. Sakura uttered nervously, "Is something wrong? An enemy?" But the tensed blonde didn't seem to hear her.

"Dobe, what the hell are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh…" Naruto's sight locked with Sasuke's stony gaze, and, habitually, his hand immediately went to the back of his head. "I, er, need to—y'know… _go_."

Sasuke sighed in irritation, while Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead. Naruto chuckled in embarrassment, and dashed off behind a tree. Making sure he was out of sight, the Jinchuuriki resumed his searching. He didn't like the feel of the unknown chakra. _"Musha, where's that chakra coming from?"_

"_**I'm not sure, Kit. They're underestimating us by not bothering to mask it fully, which is why we can feel it, but they're still being cautious enough to camouflage it."**_

"_So we're screwed until they jump us?"_

"_**Unless you jump them first."**_

Naruto smacked his forehead. _"But how the hell am I supposed to find them if you can't pinpoint where they are?-!" _

Naruto could almost see the furry grin as the Bijuu replied, _**"Get searching, short stuff! The only way to find them will be to just look around!"**_

"Great," Naruto muttered, "this is just _great_." So he started to look, his hand straying towards his holster the farther from Sasuke and Sakura he crept.

Naruto was fully focused upon searching for the chakra – there was something he didn't like about it, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. It held a tinged feel to it, and being in the middle of an exam it was alright to assume it belonged to an enemy, except it was something… more. More than what Naruto expected. It made him uneasy, unusually uneasy. Only a few times in his life had he ever felt this on edge. Suddenly, only by a tiny bit, the chakra spiked.

"_**Be careful, Naruto."**_

Naruto nodded, and walked deeper into the forest. He was inexperienced in such hide-and-seek matters, but even he could tell that whoever it was, they had detected him. All of a sudden, Naruto was filled with a foreboding dread. He gulped. _"Musha, we should go back."_

"_**Wait, Kit, just a bit longer," **_the Bijuu reasoned, _**"I think I can find him."**_

"_No!" _Sekimusha was surprised by Naruto's forcefulness. _"I'm heading back. This is too reckless."_

Musha gaped._** "Am I really hearing these words from **_**your **_**mouth?-!"**_

The blonde nodded, even if Musha couldn't see him, and took a weary glance through the trees. Almost by chance, something caught his eye. For a few seconds, Musha was quiet while Naruto struggled between turning back and moving towards it. After all, he'd come this far; there might not be much harm in looking.

Decision made, he cautiously stepped forward. The chakra spiked again, threateningly. Naruto froze, reaching for his weapons. Seconds ticked by.

After an agonizingly long moment, Musha murmured, _**"Naruto, the chakra…" **_but it was too late – the chakra had vanished.

Naruto sighed, and dropped his hand to his side. Rubbing the back of his head with the other wearily, the Jinchuuriki turned back to the way he'd come. He felt relieved, yet still on edge.

"_Mush," _he asked carefully, _"you think he left, or just masked himself completely?" _Naruto's neck prickled uncomfortably; if it was the latter, then the enemy was still there, and he had just turned his back to them. Almost unconsciously, his hand slid back towards his kunai.

"_**Either way, Kit," **_Sekimusha replied, sharing his vessels unease, _**"it was because we were there."**_

Naruto shivered. _"Let's go, Musha. Now. This place is creepy."_

And so Naruto set off back to where he had left his team mates, marveling at how he'd actually moved off further than he'd intended. As he got closer to safety, however, the Jinchuuriki began to feel relieved at last, letting the tenseness fall from his shoulders.

His relief was short lived. From behind him, their came a distorted chuckle, and then an equally distinguishable voice: "Look what we have here – a lamb strayed too far from the flock!"

Naruto cursed as he realized that he'd dropped his guard too soon, and that he was still too far from Sasuke or Sakura to yell for help. Whipping out a kunai, he turned and flung it blindly at the enemy, afraid that they were the same person to whom the menacing chakra belonged.

Pulling shuriken from his holster as he faced his assailant, he gave a relieved exhale at Musha's words in his ear, _**"It's alright, Kid, they're not the same." **_

Calming himself, Naruto too sensed that his adversary's chakra was different; finding the face of the opposing Genin, Naruto blinked in surprise. "Oh, it's you!" he said, recognizing one of the Rain ninja from the first exam, "Wouldn't have picked you to be the challenging type."

The Rain ninja leered at him from atop a tree branch. "You'll hardly be a challenge! Hand over your scroll!"

At his words, Naruto grinned. "Tough luck!" he said, "I don't have it! But…" He crouched down slightly, his fingers lightly touching his kunai pouch. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" The blonde quickly whipped out a kunai, formed a seal, and yelled, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" At once, the sole kunai became dozens, all raining down upon the other ninja.

Putting chakra into his feet, the Ame ninja leapt away in the nick of time, the kunai missing their mark by mere inches. Taking advantage of the other Genin's dodge, Naruto bounded up into the trees and leapt over to the same branch that the Rain ninja was aiming for.

The Rain ninja saw what he was planning, and in a panic (for he was already airborne in mid-leap, and could not change his direction), he twisted round and flung shuriken at the blonde, hoping to dislodge him from his landing spot. But his plan did not go as he hoped; with another cry of 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu', weapons formed in the air and were flung towards him, knocking away his shuriken and piecing his arms. He let out a cry of pain.

Seeing his chance, Naruto quickly did the same move again and followed through with a bound towards the falling ninja. There was a crunch as the blonde aimed a kick at the Ame-nin's face; trailing a fist in the wake of the blow, he flashed a sadistic smirk as he felt the Ame ninja convulse slightly, a sign of the wind leaving his lungs.

Together, they crashed into the ground, Naruto twisting so that he smashed bodily (elbows first) into his opponent's chest, utilizing the force of their tumble besides sustaining a jarring blow to his side, leaving him gasping at the sudden pain. The other shinobi let out a strangled wheeze as a few of his ribs snapped, but took advantage of the Jinchuuriki's flash of pain by hooking his fist into Naruto's jacket.

With a surge of chakra, the enemy ninja managed to heave Naruto off him while the blonde took an ill-placed moment to recover from their collision with the ground. Regaining his breath, Naruto leapt back to his feet, his gaze searching round suspiciously for the enemy.

A spike of chakra was felt and, instantaneously, eight clones of his enemy appeared. Not betraying any sign of surprise, Naruto just grinned foxily, _'Well, two can play this game.'_ Forming familiar seals, he cried out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With puffs of smoke, eight of _his_ clones also appeared.

"You'll have to do better than that!" exclaimed an enemy clone. As if on cue, all sixteen clones dove headlong into battle, while the real Naruto remained hidden in the bushes, cloaking his chakra.

'_Hm… that's strange.' _He thought, frowning, as he watched his clones attack._ 'I can't destroy any of those clones, and the only way that's possible is if they aren't real clones. But,' _he could feel the cogs in his head beginning to work,_ 'two of my clones are dead already. So the real deal must be hiding somewhere like I am.' _He gave a sly smirk._ 'Now all I need to do is find the guy before he destroys all my clones.'_

Crouching low to the ground in the bushes, Naruto started hard at his clones, watching their every move; to his left, another poof-ed out of sight. _'Dammit!' _Naruto failed to see where the attack had come from.

He was down to two clones when, suddenly, a kunai flew towards one of the clones' blind spots. '_There!' _Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw it — a hand merging back into the earth. _'He's hiding underground!'_

With that realisation, Naruto first rejoiced at his discovery, but then cursed as he realised his next move would have to be an earth-affiliated jutsu. He was _not _good at those. Hell, he'd only bothered attempting a few — a few high-ranked ones that he'd never gotten round to even half-mastering.

The blonde slapped a hand to his face wearily, and dragged it sluggishly down his face in exasperation. "Ughh,"he sighed to himself wearily as he began to form the necessary signs, _'I'll have to give it a shot.'_ At least, he could take comfort in the fact that things (usually, on rare occasions) seemed to work well for him under pressure, and that he was abundantly lucky — especially for a golden blonde kid wearing palpable "hit me!" orange in a dull, green-and-brown forest, surrounded by deadly enemies, because he had yet to be unexpectedly hit.

Still, now was not the time to ponder his many wardrobe issues. Finishing his hand signs with a slight prayer (he really, really sucked at this), he quietly pressed his hands to the ground, and uttered: "Doton: Yomi Numa!" followed immediately by, "please, please, please, please, please!"

Despite the begging mantra, for a few heartbeats, there was nothing, and Naruto cursed his bad luck. However, just as he was about to throw caution to the winds and dive right out of his hiding place in a reckless attempt to draw out the real enemy, the ground gave a rippling shudder, and then slowly, very slowly, a small portion of the ground began to buckle.

Naruto's eyes widened, as his jutsu (small, weak, but actually _there_) formed before his eyes: the swamp of the underworld. With a low moan, the earth started to shift and melt, churning itself into bubbling, glutinous mud. The small 'swamp' — even Naruto had to admit that the pitiful thing was barely even the size of a pond — was icky, and sluggish, and thick, and not at all large and ground-devouring like it should've been (he had first read of its gobbling, greedy quicksand-effect with excited awe); but Naruto didn't care, because it was exactly where it should be — forming over the position of the Ame ninja, and turning his hiding place into an inescapable trap of mud, effectively drowning him as he struggled within its thick, congesting grasp.

Naruto stepped out into the clearing cautiously, watching with tired satisfaction as the enemy's clones disappeared one by one. When the last one faded, Naruto knew it was over, and that the ninja was dead; the small swamp began to fall in on itself, and gradually re-solidify into earth.

Naruto let his own remaining two clones poof out of existence as he squatted to the ground, catching his breath; that jutsu, even of that weakness, had taken him a bit more chakra than he had expected. Although, he had to admit, even though he couldn't give it enough power to sink an enemy from under his feet, he could damn well use it to drown a person already underground.

With a resigned half-yawn, Naruto stood and stretched languidly, listening to his shoulders crack in satisfaction. He didn't like killing people (why would he? It was an immoral act) but he knew it was frequently necessary in a ninja's life. He had had two choices with that ninja: kill him while he hid, or wait him out; and waiting around in a forest swarming with enemies wasn't really the best idea.

Glancing around him, the surrounding forest now eerily quite without the sounds of battle, Naruto hurried back to where he had left Sasuke and Sakura, who were no doubt wondering just why the hell it was taking him so long to pee. Of course, as he left, he made sure to collect the Ame nin's Earth scrollfrom where it had fallen from the ninja's protection in the beginning scuffle. Slipping it into his pouch, he decided that he wouldn't reveal its existence to Sasuke and Sakura; after all, they already had an Earth scroll of their own, what good was two to them?

Making his way back through the trees wearily, Naruto felt a goofy grin slid onto his face as he emerged into the clearing he had left the rest of Team 7 in. At his arrival, his team mates looked around. Naruto mused that Sasuke, had he thought it possible, looked slightly relieved, and yet very ticked off; that's when the blonde realised — he'd been stuck with Sakura, _just Sakura_, for Kami knows how long Naruto'd been gone. Naruto couldn't resist laughing to himself at Sasuke's misfortune.

At that moment, though, it seemed Sasuke was reading his mind, for a vein ticked in his forehead and he ground out, "Just what the hell took you so long?" but without waiting for an answer, he stalked past Naruto in a thoroughly annoyed impression. "Let's go."

Sakura, seeing that her love interest was leaving, trotted after him immediately, leaving Naruto to bring up the rear with a scrupulously amused expression on his face. He really wished he'd left a clone behind to catch their conversation. No doubt that between the stoic Sasuke and overly-attentive Sakura, it would've been pretty one-sided, but that didn't mean it wouldn't have been funny, especially to have grate on Sasuke's nerves so much.

As they walked, Sasuke filled Naruto in on the password situation. Naruto's jaw hit the floor in despair, literally — when he heard how long the password was, he forgot to watch where he was going and tripped over a tree root. Picking himself up, rubbing his chin dismally, the Jinchuuriki objected in desperation, "But there's no way I can remember all that!"

Glancing back over his shoulder, Sasuke fixed him with a short look. "You're going to have to." Sighing and grumbling, Naruto made to shove in front of the Uchiha to spite him.

Suddenly, a twig snapped.

"Wha…-?" Puzzled by the noise, Naruto looked to the surrounding forest, prompting his team mates to turn too.

"Naruto?" he heard Sakura ask, but he didn't get the chance to reply as three things suddenly happened at once: something sharp whipped past Naruto's face, slicing his cheek; his eyes widened in shocked realisation; and something smashed hard into his body.

All at once, pain exploded in his limbs, and as he was thrown backwards, Naruto distinctly heard something snap (not he bones, his mind informed him in relief). He was flung through the trees with an alarming force, adrenalin causing cold shock to tear at his veins and his body screaming from the pressure, before he, suddenly and brutally, collided with a large tree.

Naruto let out a winded gasp as his back smashed into the bark, splintering the wood upon impact. The pressure lifted from his body, and suddenly he felt weightless as he tumbled back onto the ground. His body throbbed in pain, and he lay there for a long second, coughing and spluttering; he thought he tasted blood on his lips.

It was a wind jutsu, he quickly realised as he pushed himself to his feet some moments later, wincing as Musha's chakra rushed to heal any wounds he'd sustained. What's more, he'd been separated from his team — no matter how much he complained about them, it was still not good. And then, there had been that chakra…

In the second just before the jutsu had hit, Naruto had felt it, but he was sure it had been the same nameless chakra as before, only this time it hadn't been camouflaged, and it had froze Naruto to the bone. He _had _to get back to Sasuke and Sakura, because wherever they were, whether they were together or not, they were dead.

However, Naruto hadn't gone more than two paces when suddenly a large crack sounded from behind. _'What now? I don't have time for this!' _Irritated, thinking it was another enemy, he span round.

"Oh, holy shit!"

He was face to face with possibly the hugest snake — or rather, the largest snake's mouth — he'd ever seen. Before he could even blink, that same mouth snapped shut around him.

'_I'm _sooooo_ going to kill Anko for this!'_ he yelled mentally as it happily swallowed him up. Growling at the thick wall of slimy flesh all about him, the blonde made a few quick hand seals. "I'm going to make you regret _ever_ thinking of eating me. Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Instantly, Naruto after Naruto appeared in puffs of smoke, enlarging the snake's stomach until it could take no more, and exploded in blood and pieces of flesh.

"Ha! Take _that_!" he smirked. "I_ told_ you that I'm going to make you regret it."

Without looking back, Naruto took off, following the chakra signature of his two teammates. He knew that they had come across some sort of trouble, seeing as their chakra was even easier to sense.

'_Dammit!' _He silently cursed. _'Will I make it in time?'_

Suddenly, from the direction he was headed, Naruto sensed a sinister aura, and with a surge of panic, the blonde pushed even more chakra into his legs. As he sped off, the forest turned into a blur about him, and he had to swerve sharply to avoid colliding into branches or tree trunks. His eyes stung from the cold wind his speed created. He kept his sight fixed upon a distant point ahead of him, willing himself to move faster. Flashes dazzled the corners of his sight as he ran, the sunlight that splattered through the canopy the cause of the bursts of bright light.

Echoing cracks, smashes, and explosions sounded off in the near distance, where he was headed, and light from a vast fire jutsu flitted behind the trees' silhouettes. The wind blowing his way brought a scent laced heavily with snakes and the discernable fear of his team mates. Panic creeping up steadily upon him, Naruto moved even faster with the help of Musha's chakra, until finally he burst onto the scene.

"_Sasuke-kun!_"

The first thing Naruto registered was Sakura's piercing cry, and he turned to her just in time to see her avert her face in fear, not wanting to watch as the enemy managed to land a blow upon the Uchiha's frame.

"Shit!" Naruto gasped out in surprise, unable to even blink as the fight exploded before him: Sasuke crashed into a tree branch close by, his adversary leaping gleefully after him, and before Naruto could even get his bearings on the situation, Sasuke had been hit again, tumbling across the tree branches until crashing painfully to a halt on a branch a few feet down from Naruto. The blonde distinctly heard the Uchiha groan in pain.

However, what caught his attention the most, was the enemy; the weird lady-not-lady who dealt his team mates that vicious blow. With his heightened senses, Naruto could easily smell the pheromones that belonged exclusively to females rolling off the Kusa-nin; however, there was something not quite right. The woman reeked heavily of snakes, and very faintly Naruto could detect a different, more masculine scent hidden well beneath, undetectable to all but the keenest of demon-enhanced senses. He was alarmed by the unexpected turn of events. Something wasn't right. The enemy was clearly in disguise, and was more powerful than _any_ Genin should be!

No. Not just a Genin. Even a Jounin or ANBU would be hard pressed battling her. A frown creased his sweating brow. From what he could tell, this she-devil wasn't drawing her power from anywhere either, not like a Jinchuuriki or some other power vessel – Naruto knew well that that sort of power source had ways to be cut off. But this, this was all her! He blanched. Sasuke would be eliminated!

He knew he had to do something, but before the blonde could do anything to step in and avert the woman's attacks from his teammate, the said raven-haired Genin struggled, panting heavily, to his feet. Naruto watched as, with a slightly trembling hand, Sasuke reached into his weapon's pouch and withdrew a small, battered scroll.

"Wait…" he coughed, holding his free hand, palm forward, out in front of him. "Wait, you want this, don't you?" He waved the scroll around slightly, "_This _is what you want? Our scroll?" The serpentine woman was silent, unreadable except for a faint grin twisting the corners of her mouth, her tongue lathering the air. Sasuke took a deep, steadying breath. His widened, onyx eyes stared at the enemy with cautious, glazed fright. "Then take it!" And he chucked it through the air.

'_What?' _Naruto blinked, watching the scroll's arc in disbelief. _'__**What?**__' _And suddenly, an unexpected bubble of anger swelled in his chest. _'What the hell is that bastard thinking? Giving in just like that? Even with an enemy that powerful, that's— that's just not like him!' _And in the blink of an eye, Naruto launched himself from his position, over the battered Uchiha's defensive and pitiful form, and snatched the tumbling scroll out of the air. He landed, planting firm feet with an almighty stomp as he did so, and scowled at his team mate.

"**Sasuke! What the hell do you think you're doing?" **he yelled, snarling, his eyes a crimson red. He forgot his fear of the enemy, standing only a matter of feet behind him, as his blood boiled angrily, disbelievingly, within his veins. He clenched the scroll tightly within his fist.

Stupefied, Sasuke just stared at him with mouth slightly open, blinking like a dazed fish and totally disarmed. Then there was a pause, he closed his mouth, and slowly, only once, he shook his head. "Naruto," he said quietly, his voice trying to reason, "You idiot, what do you mean what am I doing?" He gestured to his adversary (who looked more than amused by this quirk of fate). "We can't win here, we need to get away."

The way Sasuke was so calm only served to spur Naruto on. He let out an animalistic growl. All fear of annihilation had been stripped from his body but the Uchiha's blatant cowardice. It disgusted him. "What kind of talk is that? And from _you _of all people? Who… Who the hell are you?" He shook his head vehemently. "You're not Sasuke, no way! I mean, _look at you!_" And here Naruto jerked his hand to emphasis his point, a deep, incredulous scowl set heavily into his face. "_You're a_ _coward!_"

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	10. A Blast from the Past

**Thank you very much for your unwavering patience, please enjoy our next installment :)**

* * *

**Author notes**

'_Thinking'_

"_Jinchuuriki speaking with thoughts__"_

**"_Bijuu speaking in Jinchuuriki's mind"_**

**'_Bijuu thinking'_**

**"Bijuu speaking / transformed Jinchuuriki"**

_**Inner speaking**_

_Flashback/Dream/Letter_

* * *

**A Fox's Deception  
_A Blast from the Past_**

Sasuke's face was the picture of shock. How, just exactly _how_, could that dobe stand there with his back to the enemy like that? Was he _insane? _He could hardly believe the nerve of that loser! He was an unfathomable idiot, and Sasuke's brain was for a moment preoccupied with his imprudence, but then something in the back of his mind began to whisper. Was the dobe right? Was he really acting like such a coward, bargaining their lives on a roll of paper?

He mentally shook his head. No. This had_ nothing _to do with cowardice. The enemy was clearly at a level way above their own. If lowering himself from his high horse and surrendering meant surviving, he'd do it in a heartbeat. After all, they could always ambush the other participants and get another scroll — they could still have a chance to pass the exam. If they kept trying to fight off this crazily strong woman, however, they… they would most likely die. Sasuke scowled. That idiot just didn't know what he was talking about. This wasn't like the fight with Zabuza and the hunter-nin where they had Kakashi as a backup to save their skins when things went wrong.

He gritted his teeth, and in a low voice — as if he hoped vainly the enemy wouldn't be able to catch his words — he spat at the blonde, "You _idiot_, Naruto. Don't you see we can't win here? I'm saving our skins!"

Naruto's face was almost a snarl. The Uchiha's show of cowardice clearly not agreeing with him at all, no matter the small issue of survival. "Doesn't look like it to me, teme! Are you seriously giving in to a slimy bitch like _that_?" Naruto jerked a thumb over his shoulder, and had his teammates not been preoccupied with fearing for their own safety, they would have probably been stricken with heart attacks at the blonde's sheer recklessness. He was insulting possibly the strongest enemy they'd ever faced, whilst _presenting his back to her_.

However, forebodingly, the woman was smiling. It was an ear-splitting, malevolent grin, and a pointed tongue was lapping at her lips, saliva dripping from its deep pink flesh. A deep, throaty chuckle was shaking her slim shoulders and forcing its way around her teeth.

Behind Sasuke, Sakura was brought to her knees, trembling violently. "P-please, Naruto, stop yelling…" she whimpered, but the blonde (who was focusing his anger upon the stubborn Sasuke) did not hear her. Unnoticed by the two boys, the woman shifted, and Sakura let out a high-pitched cry, "Look out! _Naruto!_"

Gasping in surprise, Naruto twisted to his left, and not a split second later there was a dull thunk as, mere inches from where his throat had been, a kunai embedded itself deeply within the bark of a nearby tree. The three children were silent, all eyes now turned to their enemy, who was walking towards them with measured, taunting steps. With a short growl in his throat, Naruto gripped his own blade tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white. She stopped.

"I see you escaped my friend…" there was a long, steady slurp, followed by an amused chuckle. "_…boy._"

Naruto smirked past his apprehension, his mouth twitching as he tried to keep his face bluffing confidence that he only half-felt. "So, that snake was yours?" he said, the corners of his lips curling upwards discreetly. "Well, I'm afraid it ate something that its stomach really didn't agree with." Then he subtly sniffed the air. "You really reek of snakes, y'know."

There was a slight shift in the air, but the woman only seemed amused by his lack of tact. She hummed out a curious chuckle of laughter. "My my, I guess they didn't bother teaching _you _how to hold your tongue, did they? Poor, neglected child…" Her voice was gleeful, mocking — and knowing. Naruto's eyes narrowed. How could she know about the villager's contempt? Was she hoping to probe a rise from him? Inadvertently, caught by the comment, he took a step back to steady himself. The smirk had slipped from his face.

Well, he wasn't going to let her get to him! Putting on a foxy grin, he replied, "And how about you? You seem pretty powerful. And yet, here you are, in such a _low_ rank. Your sensei must think that you're still not up to par."

Something about his words struck a bitter chord. Dark eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously. "You don't know a thing."

"Oh, really?" the blonde gloated further. In the back of his mind, he could hear Musha groaning in apprehension, but Naruto simply wasn't able to stop his motor mouth from running once it started. The darkening look on his enemy's face only spurred him in. "I actually think I do. If I was your sensei, I wouldn't promote you either. Come on, who'd promote a crazy bitch like you? Only the insane or the stupid, that's who. And I'm betting your sensei is neither of those."

The Kusa-nin's face contorted at those words, hitting a deeply hidden nerve, and for a moment Naruto had to wonder if she was remembering a different incident entirely. She snarled, baring her sharp, almost canine teeth, and detachedly Naruto wondered if she was from a clan like the Inuzuka. Her abnormally long tongue darted out to wet her lips. Spittle flew from her teeth with every word. "My sensei was a _fool! _A damn, wretched old codger!I- I was _perfect _for that job! And then he promotes that young _bastard _instead, that- that-" Her eyes, widened with rage, focused on Naruto's face, and Naruto thought that her maddened eyes might pop out of her head; the anger directed at him was unmistakably lethal, and he gulped. He'd pushed it too far. She— she didn't even seem to be seeing _him _anymore, but another person entirely. "_**You**__!" _she screamed, and with a livid hiss, the Grass kunoichi formed a series of hand seals in the blink of an eye. With a large puff of smoke, another one of her gigantic snake summons appeared.

Naruto lurched backwards, swearing, as the snake launched itself towards him. "Holy shit!"

There was an almighty, splintering crash as the serpent collided headfirst with the thick, oversized trunk behind the position Naruto had been in only moments before. The snake let out a deep, throaty hiss, and drew back slightly, ready to dive again. Wood peppered its nose, thick, arm-long splinters sticking out of its scales like quills on a porcupine. It whipped its great head around, and a few large shards fell, tumbling to the floor far, far below. When the resulting impact reached his ears an eerily long time later, Naruto gulped. He hadn't realised just how far up they were.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the snake's tail hit him broadly across the side. Naruto yelled out as he was flung into the air, legs kicking out for a foothold that was no longer beneath him. He barely managed to get his bearings in time to twist so that his back was the first thing to hit the tree he was flung into. Feeling the bark crack against his skin, Naruto cried in pain. He was sure the sharp fissures would draw blood.

Sure enough, when he climbed out of the significant hole his body had created, he could already feel the warm liquid spreading pools across his clothes, and running in trembling rivulets down his skin. He clambered onto a nearby branch, and coughed at the dust he inhaled. Naruto groaned. His eyes stung with the dirt, but he couldn't rub them for fear of forcing splinters into his eyes. His eyes misted, trying to clear the particles away, but Naruto could no longer see.

He shook his head violently from side to side. "Godammit!"

"_**Kit, look out!"**_

Naruto jumped, blinking furiously, and just in time. Long, thick fangs sank into the wood he had just been crouched on, venom sliding viscously down their yellowed surface to pool in stringy globules upon the dirty bark. The dust clung to the shining poison like flies to berries. Seconds later, wisps of smoke rose from the bark as it began to steadily corrode from the acidic substance. There was a growling, hot rush of air as the snake eased its teeth from their mark. With his eyes clearing too slowly to be of any use, Naruto felt his way more than seeing it, and leapt with not-so-metaphorical blind faith to an adjoining branch.

All of a sudden, silence fell. Naruto's eyes finally cleared, and he looked up from where he had landed. The giant snake had disappeared. But Naruto knew it couldn't have gone far. He could still smell its foul stench in the air. The blonde glanced around cautiously, adrenalin screaming through his veins as he tried to pull air into his lungs fast enough to keep up with his viciously pounding heart.

Abruptly, the branch trembled. "Ah!" Naruto leapt upwards as the mammoth branch exploded in two, and suddenly the snake's pulsing, slimy mouth was chasing him into the air. His momentum was failing; those fangs were inches from his heels, its pronged tongue lapping at his ankles.

"Oh no you don't!" he yelled angrily. Red-hot chakra surged through his veins, his stomach burning. Twisting in the air, he smashed his fist into the snake's scraped nose. The beast's head jerked shut with a menacing hiss, its tongue trapped lolling from its jaw. Naruto was filled with a vicious strength, feeling fury well up in his limbs. He unleashed a hail of blows onto the snake's face, lashing out with his clenched fists and kicking at its jaw. The feeling was familiar, and he knew it was Musha's strength flowing through him. He had no doubt his eyes were bleeding red across his blue irises, his pupils narrowing to feral slits.

All of a sudden, the tip of the beast's tail caught him across the throat, whipping his body sideways. Naruto snarled and yelled out. The impact was so sharp and sudden that he felt sure he would have a large, nasty bruise spreading over his neck in no time. He smashed through three lots of branches, this time unable to protect himself in the least. When he finally crashed to a stop, he was stunned, his body wracked with pain. He lay still, waiting for Musha's chakra to do its work.

From high up above there came the sound of chuckling laughter, and the Kusa-nin looked down upon her snake's work with glee in her eyes. "Well, well…" she murmured, looking at the boy's small, dishevelled form. "Earlier, I did wonder if it was _you_. Who would've thought _you'd_ still be alive…"

But the Jinchuuriki didn't respond, and after a moment the assailant turned her attention to where, a little way away, Naruto's two other team mates still sat, frozen in place. Moving forwards, she locked eyes with the Uchiha. As a wild grin spread across her face, killing intent filled the air.

Sakura choked, her whole body trembling violently; she could barely _breathe_. Her mind was screaming at her to run, but she couldn't move; she was fixed in place, paralysed with fear. She couldn't take her eyes off of her enemy's, and from the corner of her vision she saw Sasuke fairing the same; he was stricken, too, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape with fear. She'd never seen him scared. To her right, in her peripheral sight, Sakura could just see Naruto's distant form struggling upwards.

'_Oh please,' _she pleaded in her mind, _'Naruto, _please!'

Below her, Naruto was indeed stirring from his shock, thanks to the Kyuubi's panicked yells, **"**_**Get up, you lazy brat! Now!" **_Complying slowly, Naruto struggled onto all fours, coughing. His knee stung, and there was blood dripping into his eye from his forehead. He tried to focus on what Musha was saying. _**"You've got to send for help, Naruto, now! This- this woman, she's not who you think!"**_

"_W-who is she, Musha?" _Naruto replied shakily, pressing a hand to his forehead to dull the throbbing ache.

He sensed Musha shaking his great head, muzzle snapping in agitation. _**"Just do it, Kit, and then get out of there!"**_

Taking a steady breath, Naruto hastily formed a few seals. He didn't have to draw blood; he was already splattered with it. "Kuchiyose no jutsu," he murmured, and with a small puff of smoke, a canary appeared before him. It chirruped quietly, sensing the danger around them.

"Hello, Natsu," Naruto whispered as he leaned over the bird's tiny form. "I know I don't call you out often, I usually just take your form myself, don't I?" The canary cocked its head at him, fixing him with a beady eye, chirping once. "Don't worry," Naruto continued. "But I need your help, alright?" Bending closer, Naruto whispered. "As soon as this maniac bitch reveals any indication of who she really is, you fly away, okay? You fly as fast as you can and warn Anko. She's somewhere nearby. If anyone knows how to deal with a crazy bitch, it's her. Got it?" Natsu chirruped again, and hopped away to nearby safety.

Sighing in a small lapse of relief, Naruto then turned his attention back to his adversary. The wild woman was in the canopy up above, eyes fixed hungrily upon his two teammates. Naruto swore, struggling to his feet, and as he did a few words reached his ears.

"Your turn."

Sakura and Sasuke's hearts skipped a beat, and suddenly the great serpent's face (bloody, grazed, and bruised, but still terrifyingly malicious) turned towards them. It hissed, open mouthed, its fangs glinting in the shafts of light breaking through the dense leaves, its acidic poison gathering at the tip and dripping heavily to the forest below. Suddenly, with a rush like thunder, the beast launched its gigantic body towards them, amid its mistress' fanatical laughter.

Paralysis broken without eye contact, Sakura screamed, "Sasuke-kun, look out!"

The Uchiha, roused by her frantic cry, lurched backwards with panic in his onyx eyes, and stumbled. His legs were still weak at the knees, and he cursed a blue streak as he struggled for a weapon. It was no use! Those fangs were inches from his body! He couldn't escape! He couldn't run! He was going to—!

"Move, idiot!"

A fist clenched his collar, and suddenly he was propelled backwards as a deafening smash resounded through the air. Panting, Sasuke looked up. Feet away, there stood Naruto, the enormous beast braced upon his back. Kunai were anchored deeply into the snake's nostrils, and Naruto was holding on for dear life, grounding the beast. A look of pain was splashed across his face, and he flinched as the creature struggled to throw him away.

"D-dammit, Sasuke!" Naruto growled through gritted teeth. "Why the hell are you always getting in the way?" Sasuke said nothing, transfixed by the blonde's gnashing, pointed teeth and his blood red eyes. Naruto scoffed, and managed a rough laugh, tinged with an animalistic rumble. "You're not _scared, _are you, bastard? You scaredy-cat!"

"Naruto…" was all Sasuke could say, his voice hoarse. And then his eyes went wide. "Naruto!"

A hand scraped at his hair, and the blonde Jinchuuriki was yanked upwards onto the beast's head. He struggled and scrapped in the grasp, immense pain shredding at his scalp; he felt clumps of hair rip loose. Suddenly, the grip let up, and Naruto tumbled to the scaled head below him, groaning in pain.

Feet were inches from his nose, and there came a smooth, murderous laugh. Naruto was almost afraid to look up.

"Well well," the lady drawled, her tongue cascading back down her throat with a sickly gulp, "look what we have here..."

With an iron grip, scarily stead-fast and irremovable, she hooked her fingers into the back of Naruto's collar and lifted him to her face, the black and orange material of his jacket tearing slightly in protest. The blonde let out a small, feral growl of discomfort as sharp nails scraped at the skin of his neck, angry scratches, prickled with blood, blossoming on his nape. The woman's eerie smile split into a wide, wide grin, teeth, glinting white and pointed, creeping out from below stretched, pale lips.

"Looks like the Kyuubi brat lives." She chuckled, laughed, and her very voice seemed to morph into something so devious and so smooth that it was barely human, amused by every little quirk of warped nature the world had to give – including him, the unwitting brat infused with a demon. "Your name… all these years and I've not forgotten the little demon spawn, _Uzumaki Naruto_."

Naruto's red eyes widened, and with anger, and disbelief, he growled out, _screamed_, "Who the _hell _are you? Hebi!"

"You want to know who I am, boy?" The woman said, her face suddenly grave, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Well, let me show you." And suddenly, as the woman's hand (now eerily pale) reached up to her forehead, Naruto was filled with the most intense sense of dread he had ever felt. But he couldn't move. He hung limply from her— from this _creature's _grasp, and watched with horror as her fingers bit into her own skin, and began to peel it away.

"W-what _are _you?" Naruto cried hoarsely. The shape shifter in front of him only laughed. The laugh was still the same. It was a silky, guttural laugh that echoed smoothly in his eardrums and struck fear into every fibre of Naruto's being, causing his very atoms to resonate with a terrible sense of terror.

Slowly, torturously, the face of his enemy was peeled away, and Naruto stared into glinting, _hungry_, yellow eyes.

The tanned skin of the woman fell away, revealing a sickly, moonlight-pale flesh, and those eyes flashed with mirth. A smooth, deceptive voice mocked his trepidation.

"Do you know my face now, Naruto-kun?" The chameleonasked innocently. "Have they taught a child like you to fear me yet?"

Naruto's eyes grew wide, and his mouth went dry as everything suddenly clicked into place. He remembered the stories he had overheard, whispered in the corners of the village between grown men who trembled as they spoke, and he remembered the way those inhuman eyes, that monstrous smile, has leered with a sickly humour out at him from the pages of his stolen Bingo Book. He remembered Musha's voice, layered with raw disgust and fury.

Dimly, he was aware of Musha calling to him now, growling at him, yelling at him to get away. This ninja — this creature — was too strong for him to face. He was laughing now, his eyes, unblinking, never leaving Naruto's face.

"Can you name me now, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto didn't notice that the pale, spindly hand at his nape had been replaced by that long, wet tongue, flexing its muscle tighter and tighter around his waist. He didn't notice the seals being formed. He couldn't tear his gaze away from that biting, mocking stare. He gulped.

"I know who you are," he answered, the sound barely audible as more than a whisper, but there was still a tremor of hatred in his voice. His throat was dry, but he was defiant. He snarled, "Orochimaru!"

The man laughed, the sound cold and bone chilling, and suddenly pain ripped through Naruto's stomach. He screamed. Lights burst in front of his eyes, and his vision tunnelled.

He threw his head back, thrashed, he could head Musha yelling,_**"Get away! Get away!"**_But it was no use. He wanted to cry back, desperately, _"I'm trying!"_, but darkness was rushing in, sounds dimming, his skin was cold. For a second, all he was aware of was blinding pain spreading through his veins, setting his very blood on fire — and then nothing. Consciousness left him, and he surrendered to oblivion, his lasts thoughts hoping desperately that his canary would make it on time.

Sakura, being too far away to have heard anything going on between Naruto and their adversary, let out a startled cry as the enemy ninja released her grip on the unconscious form of her team mate. Without thinking, the pink-haired kunoichi whipped out a kunai and released it. The kunai flew through the thick air, cutting the sudden, heavy silence with a slicing hiss, and with a resounding thunk, it ripped a hole through Naruto's shirt and anchored his plummeting form against a nearby tree trunk.

Sakura let out a shaking, relieved breath, a sob rising up on its heels. With tears glistening in her emerald orbs, she turned to look at her other team mate, still frozen where he sat. "What are you _doing_, Sasuke-kun?" she exclaimed, her voice budding hoarsely from her parched throat, twin streams of tears beginning to trickle down her dirtied cheeks. "How can you just _sit_ there and let Naruto be beaten like that?" The words were a desperate, frightened keen. Her vision of a prince-like warrior, her Sasuke-kun, was slowly being disillusioned, and was being replaced by the reality — the pitiable image she saw now — of Sasuke staring at her with blank, unregistering eyes, panicked and afraid, as if not knowing who they were, where they were. Sakura was almost angry by his unusual, lost appearance. "You're supposed to be the strongest in the team, right? The strongest of the Rookie Nine! So why is Naruto the only one protecting us?"

Slowly, very slowly, she saw life returning to his eyes at her words, and hope bubbled up inside her to replace her despair. She carried on, despite being acutely aware of the amused yellow orbs a small distance away, staring at their pathetic forms. "That woman, she's powerful, and I'm terrified! But haven't we faced strong people before? Zabuza and Haku? They were both monsters in their own right, too, and… and we _won_. So get up, Sasuke-kun! Get up! Get up and fight! Or do you just want to die here?"

Finally, something broke through. Her words seemed to have struck a chord within the Uchiha, and he blinked. "You're right…" Slowly, he rose to his feet, using a nearby tree trunk as support. The bark splintered under his grip as he clenched his fist. "Sakura…"

"Yes?" The kunoichi hastily wiped her tears away. Her Uchiha ouji-sama was back!

"Take Naruto to somewhere safe." Hand seals flashed. Sasuke brought his hand to his mouth. "_Now_, Sakura!"

"Hai!" She leapt clear.

"Katon: _Goukakyuu no Jutsu!_"

Orochimarumerely observed with mild interest as the gigantic fireball roared towards him, not even bothering to dodge. Within seconds, man and jutsu collided, his silhouetted engulfed in blistering flames as the tree's bark baked in a massive burst of scorching smoke.

Cautiously, with a kunai ready at hand, Sasuke waited for the smoke to subside. When it did he saw, to his satisfaction, nothing but burnt trees remained.

Wait. He gritted his teeth. Shouldn't there be a body? And just as that thought left his mind, the air shifted.

Instinctively, he whipped round, weapon clutched defensively in his grasp. The two kunai collided with a clang, and an amused yellow gaze was suddenly staring into determined onyx. The smell of burnt flesh was pungent in Sasuke's nostrils, and now he was close enough to realise the ninja's change of face — this person wasn't a Grass kunoichi, whoever they were! Sasuke's mouth drew back in a snarl. With effort, straining under the pressure of the blow he was blocking, he grunted out, "Who the hell are you?"

His adversary simply laughed, and pressed forward harder with his weapon. He showed no great effort at all, made it seem like he was simply toying with Sasuke — which, the Uchiha guessed, he was. Involuntarily, Sasuke let out a soft grunt. This monster was really strong. He was straining to keep the kunai away from his person. He couldn't keep this up for much longer! With a burst of strength, he parried the kunai away and leapt backwards. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Sakura carefully place Naruto onto a lower tree branch, sweat covering her face. Dimly, he thought how weak girls were. She was already exhausted from lifting the heavier Naruto.

"You have no time to look away, boy!"

Sasuke barely had time to dodge as the same kunai he had just been blocking tore through the air. He tumbled forward to a lower branch, but the blade caught him across the jaw. He winced.

Laughter echoed around the forest, followed by mocking disappointment, "I didn't think avoiding conflict was the Uchiha's way…" There were footsteps, but Sasuke couldn't see the enemy. "Don't tell me your family legacy is left to a coward, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke scowled. "Shut up! How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I know you, Sasuke-kun…" suddenly, there was a sound at Sasuke's back. He span round. "I know your brother too. How very disappointed he would be, to see you caught so easily, so defenceless…"

"Don't talk to me about _him!_" Sasuke spat, Sharingan activated. Speeding through familiar hand seals, he spewed out another gigantic fireball at his adversary, point blank, whilst leaping backwards to avoid the explosion. With a weapon in hand, the Uchiha looked rapidly from right to left, still paying attention to the smoking area. If it was like before, the weird Kusa-nin would've escaped the attack. But was that scum _really_ strong enough to take it head on?

Sudden laughter behind him answered his question. "What are you aiming at, Sasuke-kun?" Amused yellow eyes stared at the Uchiha, tongue licking pale lips in appreciation. Yes, the boy was _definitely_ much easier to obtain that his prodigal brother. Too bad about the eyes though — they weren't _nearly_ as powerful as Itachi's yet.

Still, from what he could judge of Sasuke's eyes: "Yes," he mused out loud, "Your eyes have _so_ much more potential than Itachi's…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, tomoe spinning rapidly. "I _told _you, don't talk to me about my brother!" And with an angry yell, the last Uchiha launched himself from the leaves he crouched upon, and threw a raging punch wildly in the snake-summoner's direction. Orochimaru simply sidestepped the hasty attack, and with smooth, deft movement, grasped Sasuke's outstretched wrist and threw him from him.

The Uchiha instantly twisted his body around, gathered chakra in his feet, and pushed himself off as soon as he touched a solid surface. Still grinning, Orochimaru, once again, sidestepped the human missile, this time allowing the boy to fly past. Turning, the missing-nin flashed through a set of hand seals, and summoned another snake. Fangs glistening in the light, the serpent launched forward without needing verbal command. From his awkward landing position, Sasuke's eyes widened as he quickly scrambled away; the snake missed him by a hair's breadth, snapping down on bark and leaves, sending wooden splinters hurtling on impact.

Regaining his composure, Sasuke spewed out two gigantic fireballs in succession before the snake could get back up. His attack struck true, and within seconds, the wooden splinters, embedded within the reptile's skin, caught on fire, sending the flames into the snake's flesh. It hissed in pain as its body thrashed around in its agony, destroying a few more trees in the process. Soon enough, it stilled, and its body vanished in a puff of smoke.

Getting up from his half-knelt position, Sasuke turned his eyes upwards to his opponent, smirking cockily with a small flicker of relief dancing through his gaze. His opponent, however, instead of being dismayed at the thwarting of his beast, seemed…pleased.

"Oh yes…" Orochimaru muttered hungrily, licking his lips, "you'll do nicely, Sasuke-kun…"

Not hearing this, however, Sasuke spotted his chance to attack again, his enemy seemingly distracted by his own thoughts. He flicked silently through a succession of seals, before propelling himself from his position, whipping a few shuriken from his leg holster.

With a frontal attack, of course, Orochimaru saw him coming. He smirked in delight, and leapt out to meet the Uchiha — but as soon as his feet left a solid platform, Sasuke disappeared from sight. The Sanin was taken aback for a second, surprised that the tiring Sasuke could still have the energy to move that fast. He landed lightly on a branch below. The boy was impressive. Then, suddenly, there came the whoosh of fast-spinning shuriken to his right. He leaned to the side, casually avoiding their trajectory, and found a fist throwing itself at his face from the left.

It hit.

Sasuke smirked arrogantly as his blow landed, feeling the pale ninja's flesh twist under his knuckles. The Kusa-nin staggered from the force, and the Uchiha quickly followed up with a kick to the stomach, thrusting his enemy into a tree. Whilst his adversary appeared stunned, Sasuke leapt backwards, pulling out a number of larger shuriken as he did. He flung his arms out with a large sweeping motion, setting his weapons in flight towards his enemy; at the same time, his earlier hand seals came into play, and a sharp series of hisses and twangs alerted Orochimaru to the wire attached to each spinning set of blades. His eyes widened, taken aback.

"SharinganSoufuusha Sannotachi? The Sharingan Windmill, Triple Blade attack?" he asked, surprised and delighted at the same time. Yes, this boy's body _definitely_ had potential. "I didn't think the clan taught that to their children so young."

"They didn't!" Sasuke's voice rang out triumphantly as the wires wrapped themselves around his opponent, biting into Orochimaru's skin as he was crushed against the tree trunk. "I learnt this myself, from the scrolls they left behind!"

Orochimaru's eyes flashed. "Well, well," he drawled silkily. "Fancy that, that _is _an achievement. I was beginning to get a little bored, but there's hope for you yet."

Sasuke scowled and bit back, "You're one to talk, all trussed up like an animal! I'm not done yet!" And in one fluid movement he brought the wires to his mouth, wiped sweat from his brow, and formed another set of hand seals. _'Combined with a fireball, this attack becomes the Dragon fire technique!' _Inhaling deeply, the Uchiha then let loose a large roar of flames, charging down the wire from his mouth as if it were a zip line. They torpedoed towards his enemy; there was no escape. "Let's see you get out of this! _Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!_"

An ear-splitting screech hit the air as flesh met fire, a thousand million nerve endings set on fire amid white-hot flames. Sasuke, Sharingan deactivated, let out a large, exhausted sigh, and flopped down onto the branch at his feet. He rubbed his lips tentatively, the skin tender, and a few flakes of ash were set falling from where the wire had burnt and disintegrated in his grip. He winced; he could never execute that jutsu without scorching himself a little. Still, it was worth it — the flames cleared, and through the residual smoke Sasuke spied the huddled lump that had been his enemy. Over. It was finally over.

"Sasuke-kun!"

With adrenaline still running through his veins, the tired Uchiha jumped slightly as his pink-haired teammate landed beside him, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Sakura asked excitedly. "You did it! You really did it! You're amazing, Sasuke."

Sasuke brushed her words away and turned to look up at her, changing the subject. "You've left Naruto somewhere safe?" he asked, noting that a conscious blonde wasn't standing beside her, sharing in their relief. He started to get up, Sakura helping him when he realised his knees ached from all the moving about he had had to do. She caught him by the elbow. "_Ow— _Ah. We should find somewhere to camp until he wakes up."

Sakura nodded eagerly. Her relief from staying alive was so immense that, for once, something overthrew all thoughts of being near Sasuke-kun, _touching_ Sasuke-kun, supporting Sasuke-kun. "Of course, but Sauske-kun do you know what that ninja did to hi—_Ah!_"

"Going somewhere?" Suddenly, a smooth voice cut through their dialogue, and foul, murderous intent burst through the air as easily as a sharpened knife through water. The two Genin were stricken, their whole bodies freezing in position where they stood, their legs trembling and their hands shaking under the pure malice in the air. There came a high, cruel laugh, and in horror, Sasuke fixed his eyes on the burnt lump of what he had assumed was the remains of their enemy. It was mud.

"N-no…"

The laughter continued, growing wilder and happier at their sudden despair. As one, both children sucked in a short, breathless gasp as the tree trunk in front of the charcoaled sludge began to crack away. There, rising from the wood like a large, lazy serpent from a basket, emerged an undisguised Orochimaru. Unhurt. Unscathed. And with an expression of pure exaltation. They couldn't run, they couldn't move, and slowly the man advanced upon them.

"Now then," he coaxed happily, "there's no need to be frightened. I most certainly don't want to _kill _you…" He walked right up to their paralysed forms, and leaned down until he was staring Sasuke right in the eyes. "I was so very impressed by you, Sasuke-kun, and after such a _pathetic_ start." Reaching out, he ran a cold hand down Sasuke's face affectionately, and licked his lips with his lolling tongue. A shiver raced down his spine, but Sasuke couldn't draw away. "Oh yes, I'm convinced now you're just what I'm looking for. So this is my parting gift, Sasuke-kun, to ensure you'll see me again…"

"W-we don't want to see you again!" Sakura suddenly cried beside them, finding her voice upon seeing the menacing, hungry glint in the Sannin's eye. Orochimaru, however, simply laughed, never taking his eyes from Sasuke's.

"Oh," the Sannin whispered, licking his lips in appreciation. "Yes, you will." His canines prolonged as he leaned in, towards Sasuke's neck.

"No!"

Suddenly, with a bout of courage as she saw her Sasuke-kun in danger, Sakura quickly leapt forward, pushing the frozen Sasuke out of the way. Orochimaru's golden eyes widened at the unexpected display, but the momentum was already in place, and his body wouldn't stop. In a spilt second, just before his teeth sank deep into the kunoichi's upper arm, he instantly switched the seal he was about to use.

Sasuke could only choke in horror and confusion as he stared at the scene. Orochimaru drew back, licking a few droplets of Sakura's blood from the points of his small fangs as he retreated.

Suddenly, the girl seized up in pain. "Ah! S-s-_stop!_" She clapped a hand to her arm, feeling the small puncture holes flex disgustingly against her palm. Sheer, piercing pain tore through her limb and began to shoot in spasms through her whole body, forcing her to collapse to her knees. She screamed out again, and Sasuke, paralysis finally broken, bolted to her side in uncharacteristic fear for his teammate.

"Sakura!" he blurted with panic, helplessly watching his team mate writhe in pain. "What did he do? W-wha—?" He twisted to yell at the amused ninja. "What did you do?"

"Oh," Orochimaru chuckled innocently, "Just gave her a little present for her interference. Don't worry, though, the Earth's Seal I've gave her is only in its experimental stage. Unlike _you_, she gets to be just a little guinea pig. Now, let's get back to business, shall we?"

And suddenly, Sasuke forgot he had been _that_ close, because he tried to back away, tried to gather the writhing Sakura up and run, tried to hoist Naruto onto his shoulders and _flee_, flee with his tail between his legs and his knees quivering beneath him, because there was _no way _he could fight this monster. But that monster was too close. The second Sasuke twitched, showed any sign of movement, and Orochimaru grabbed him by the arms and pinned them to his sides.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke fought him, squirming and kicking, but it did no good. All of a sudden, killing intent crushed itself down onto his form, and he couldn't move, he couldn't _breathe_. His eyes were wide, and Orochimaru's glinting teeth and shining, murderously gleeful eyes were inches from his face. He could _feel _the man's hot breath as he laughed. Sasuke wanted to scream.

Suddenly, there was searing pain, and the Snake bit hard into Sasuke's neck. The boy choked out a scream. "_A-Ah, _n-n-no! _Argh!_" The Uchiha began to buck in the Sanin's grasp, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head, the whites of his orbs gaping blindly in horror. On the floor, Sakura screamed out a desperate plea, still clutching her arm, sweat and tears drenching her face.

"Ya-yamero!" she cried out hoarsely, "Bakemono, _stop!_"

Orochimaru dropped Sasuke's withering body to the floor, with a disinterested tut. "Oh dear," he drawled pityingly. "It looks like maybe neither of you will survive after all. Oh well."

He took a step back and began to sink tauntingly into the nearest surface, wild laughter seared all over his face. As best as she could, Sakura crawled laboriously over to Sasuke, and tried to sooth him. "Shh, Sasuke-kun," she comforted him, gulping back her own gasps of pain. "It's alright. It's—" but then Orochimaru began to laugh, and Sakura snapped. "Shut up, you foul brute! Just what have you done to us? What have you done to my Sasuke?"

Orochimaru simply laughed again, and pausing slightly in his disappearance, he announced with a sure boast of supremacy: "I just gave him a parting gift, to remind him who to come to… _when he decides he wants more power!_" And with a wild cackle, he began to sink out of sight again, down into the bark he had emerged from. With an air of causality, he threw out teasingly, "See you soon, Sasuke-kun, try not to disappoint me too much…"

Sasuke himself did not reply, collapsing in on himself as he screamed in pure agony. He couldn't even use his tongue if he wanted to, his brain losing the ability to recognise words and sounds, all thoughts flying from his head except for the pain. _'It hurts, it hurts, stop it please, it __**hurts**__!'_

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stuttered helplessly, staring down at his hyperventilating form. "T-tell me what to do! What do you need? Tell me, please! Sasuke!"

But Sasuke didn't answer; his screams and yells of torture died away into choking gasps and wailing moans of distress. His hand still clamped onto his neck with a vice-like grip, and he refused to let go. Sakura prised hopelessly at his fingers for a few seconds, trying to see the wound. He wouldn't budge.

"For Kami's sake, Sasuke-kun!" she cried. And then she saw Sasuke's face contort in a fresh wave of pain, and for a second his eyes cracked open, and he looked at her with an emotion in his glance that Sakura didn't want to recognise. Her Sasuke-kun didn't get scared, didn't get hurt, didn't need anyone. But she grabbed his free hand anyway. "Hold on, Sasuke," she whispered with a sob. "J-just hold on, it's okay."

And then, suddenly, Sasuke fell still. He buckled into her arms with a forlorn moan, and relaxed. Sakura's heart stopped, and she resisted the urge to shake him roughly. Her heart kicked back into life, though, as soon as she heard his breathing begin again, albeit shallow and gasping, and too irregular to be okay. He was beginning to burn up.

"Oh God," she whimpered to no one. "Oh God, please, someone. Naruto! Naruto, please help me! Please, wake up and help me!"

But of course, Naruto didn't answer either. She was alone; alone with two unconscious team mates, the eerie forest, and the searing pain coursing through her body.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Anko was just finishing up her forty-seventh stick of dango when, of all things, a small, bright-yellow canary toppled out of the sky directly above her, landing with a soft thud in her lap.

"Ah! What?" she cried, jumping at the touch. "I've warned you, Ebisu, if that's you sneaking again—!" Then she glanced down and spotted the exhausted bird, its little chest heaving from its hurried flight. Blinking, Anko recognised its blazing plumage immediately. "Hey!" she huffed. "You, young man, shouldn't be outside of these gates!" But at her chiding voice, the bird on chirped shortly.

Anko frowned, scooping the little animal up in her hand. "You're not Naruto, are you?" she asked it, watching it stagger to its little feet and shake its feathers out. "You must be the one he's always imitating… Why are you here?" It was small enough to have pushed through one of the tiny, weaker pockets in the chakra barrier. A jolt of fear struck her suddenly, and she tried to keep her composure. She knew there was only one reason why Naruto would contact her in the middle of the exam, and why he would send his bird instead of going himself. "Something's happened, hasn't it, birdie? What is it?"

With a short, sharp series of tweets and cheeps, the Jinchuuriki's small familiar relayed the information its master had confided to it, and hopped anxiously as Anko (who was not as accustomed to its language as Naruto had to be) deciphered its message. The Chuunin proctor struggled for a few minutes, and had to ask the frantic bird to repeat itself a number of times, but she soon had a clear picture of "Danger!" lurking inside her forest. But... wasn't danger _always_ present in there? It wasn't called the Forest of Death for nothing.

Getting impatient from the lack in progress, the canary flew down to the ground, and using its beak, etched the word 'Orochimaru' into the soft soil. Anko's reaction was instantaneous. She leapt up with a loud cry of shock, stamping on the name.

"Him!" she exclaimed with panicked disgust, "What on _earth _is that-that- _monster_ doing here?" With quick movements she fastened her shin-protectors tightly, and then reached out her palm to the canary, which, upon her standing, had hopped to the roof she had been sat on. "C'mon, bird!" she said, picking it up as it stepped with obligation onto her fingertips and placing it onto her shoulder. "Tell me where! Tell me where I can find that bastard!"

Sinking effortlessly through the chakra barrier, she dived into the dark canopy of the deadly forest, face fearless and determined as she sped off to intersect her long-estranged master. _'Orochimaru…' _she growled silently. _'If you hurt any of these children, there will be hell to pay, my _dear **master**!'

Sakura's nerves were on fire, as was the rest of her body. The pain from earlier had lessened, but it was still there, a stinging reminder of the earlier events. She felt as though something, a liquid something, was flowing through her veins, starting from her right arm where the huge bruise was. It was a cold fire, burning her inside out, and yet, at the same time, numbing her down.

With painstakingly slow progress, she crawled over to her blonde team mate, who was still lying unconscious a few meters away. She had tried to rouse Sasuke, but it had been to no avail. Perhaps waking Naruto up would be easier. She was propelled by a sense of urgency, because black spots had already entered her vision and were slowly increasing by the second, whilst her head pulsed with an agonising thump - they were both a sure sign that she was going to join her teammates in the realm of unconsciousness soon, and she couldn't afford to leave them all unprotected. Not when Kaka-sensei wasn't there. Not when they couldn't reach anyone for help. Not with that snake man still roaming around.

She slumped down beside the blonde, not even having enough energy to prop herself up anymore. Strands of hair were stuck to her sweaty face, and her breath came in short, wheezing gasps. It was okay, she told herself, all she had to do was get Naruto up, and then everything would be fine. But a small voice in the back of her head groaned – she knew how hard it was to wake Naruto at the best of times. Still, knowing there was nothing else for it, Sakura reached out and gripped Naruto's shoulder with a shaking hand.

"N-Naruto…!" she called him as loud as she could with her raw throat. Her head spiked with pain at her effort. She tugged on his arm as hard as she dared, not wanting him to roll off the branch and to his death hundreds of yards below. "Oh, please, Naruto!" She began to despair. "I-I'll work harder, I promise; you guys won't need to protect me again! Just please — Ah!" Pain jolted suddenly through her whole body. Tears began to drip down Sakura's face in desperation and despair. "P-please, Naruto, we need you… I need you to wake up. Please…I'll… I'll treat you to ramen?"

Suddenly, Naruto groaned, and his eyelashes quivered.

Sakura blinked through her tears. "R-really?" She couldn't quite believe it had worked. Still, she called Naruto's name again. "Naruto? Naruto!" Sakura began to sob quietly in relief as she saw Naruto's blue eyes flutter open. Her own vision was blurring heavily, and everything was starting to go dark and close in. She let her head flop to the tree bark. "Thank goodness…" The whisper slipped from her mouth as her green eyes dropped closed, and Sakura let herself subside into blackness.

Naruto was quickly startled awake when his teammate suddenly slumped over in unconsciousness and slipped over the edge of the tree branch. Without thinking, he launched forward, grabbing her arm in the nick of time. A loud pop sounded throughout the air suddenly, making Naruto wince. Not wanting her to be in anymore pain than she already was, Naruto immediately grabbed onto her other arm and pulled her up.

Setting her down quickly, the blonde winced upon seeing her abnormally limp arm. It was dislocated. He was no expert on patching up injuries, but still, he had to try. Naruto steadied Sakura's unconscious form against the tree trunk at her back, barely taking notice of the slightly blood-smeared, large bruise on her upper right arm because of his other concerns. With ginger movements, Naruto positioned one hand upon her left shoulder, and gently gripped her elbow with the other hand. He then paused and took a deep breath, and with a mental count of three, he forcefully pushed her arm upwards. With another pop, her arm was back in its socket, and her face grimaced with pain, though she stayed unconscious.

Wiping away the non-existing sweat off his forehead with a sigh of relief, Naruto did a quick 360° scope of his surroundings. Their enemy was nowhere in sight, but then Naruto had to wonder: just what had happened? As far as he could see, no help had come to them, and yet they weren't all dead.

Looking at his unconscious teammates, he sighed. He guessed he'd have to wait until they woke up to get his answers. But first, before anything else, he'd have to get them to safety. There was no way he could protect them on top of the trees like this. Holding his hands in a familiar sign, Naruto gathered his chakra and smoke quickly filled the air. But something was wrong. He frowned.

When the smoke dispersed, the Jinchuuriki found not three (which had been his intention) but six Kage Bunshin staring back at him, also bemused. Naruto stared at his copies. What was going on? He shook his head. Oh well, no matter. Perhaps he was still too out of it.

Shaking his thoughts away as two of his clones hooked Sakura's arms around their shoulders and hoisted her up, Naruto called over, "Watch her arm guys, I can't be responsible for hurting her too much!" He had a sneaking suspicion that his clones were rolling their eyes as they turned away from him, but before Naruto could think of how to retaliate, one of his other clones was waving him over to where they had gone to retrieve Sasuke. The blonde vessel quickly made his way along the branch towards them, for they looked quite urgent.

All of a sudden, Naruto's foot slipped. He let out a short yell as he missed his stepping, a jolt of dark surprise curling sickly in his gut. Like a knee-jerk reaction, he summoned chakra to his feet. But suddenly it was as if he'd never summoned chakra before in his life, there was no reaction, no immediate sticking, he—! He was falling!

Naruto lashed out wildly for a handhold as he slipped from the bark, and for a moment, he thought he was going to plummet to his death. Then suddenly one of the spare clones, who had stuck to his side like glue, not knowing what else to do, caught his wrist and tugged hard. (Fortunately, his arm didn't dislocate like Sakura's, and upon remembering that incident later, Naruto vowed with every bone in his body that she wouldn't find out about it.) Naruto was pulled back to safety in no time at all, and he collapsed to the tree branch in relief.

"What the hell was that?" he asked all seven of his selves, hoping that if not he, then his six clones would come up with an answer for him. Said clones, however, simply shrugged. "What a useful bunch you are!" he chided angrily, shivering as his heart still pounded wildly from the shock. After a moment, he closed his eyes, and concentrated. He focused his attention on his chakra network, because now he knew something definitely wasn't right. Immediately, he recognised a struggle; his chakra was pulsing irregularly through his body, sometimes in useless trickles, other times in large floods. It was as if something was hindering what should have been a steady flow of creation.

'_Something must have happened in the fight,' _Naruto thought to himself for a moment. _'And its messed up my chakra control. I didn't know anything could do that…' _Then something clicked in Naruto's brain. _'Musha will know!'_

"_Hey!" _he inwardly called towards the back of his mind, where the Kyuubi lurked. _"Hey, Musha, what's going on?"_

But there came no reply. Irritated, Naruto called again. _"Oi! Musha! This is no time to be fooling around, answer me!"_ Naruto's voice, however, remained the only one inside his head. He blanched. The Bijuu was never one to not reply during crises, so to hear silence now from the great fox only revealed one thing – Naruto couldn't get through to him.

The blonde began to curse wildly, but suddenly, thinking of that large fur ball in his belly made his realise something. Now that he thought about it, didn't he have abysmal chakra control like this before? Due to the seal, his chakra used to fluctuate wildly with the unsteady flow of Musha's chakra. However, once he started on the chakra control exercises, and the seal somewhat figured out a balance between the two chakra flows, he didn't have as much problem with it as before. That's when Naruto suddenly recalled how, through a large blur of fighting and fuzzy-headedness, his stomach had exploded in pain before knocking him unconscious. He remembered seeing Orochimaru's lips move, sneering, saying some kind of jutsu.

Eyes widening in realization, Naruto quickly lifted up his shirt. There. Surrounding the Shiki Fuujin was another sign, consisting of five comma-like marks. Another seal, without a doubt, somehow hindering his chakra flow. With a short growl, Naruto let his shirt drop again. That Orochimaru was up to no good. He'd have to talk to the Old Man later about getting rid of the seal.

It was then, Naruto realised, that his clones were still calling him over to Sasuke's side.

Quickly, but carefully, he made his way across the tree branch. He didn't need to ask them what was wrong, because they were already pointing to an unusually large, dark bruise on Sasuke's jugular; Naruto frowned, and bent closer. The more he looked at it, the more it looked too shaped to be a bruise at all. And that's when he realised there had been a similar mark marring Sakura's upper arm. It looked too much like Sakura's to be a coincidence. He breathed in sharply; everything about the situation now reeked of danger. Did Orochimaru do something to his teammates as well?

That was all the more reason to get out of there quickly. Gesturing to his clones, Naruto led the group swiftly, but carefully, down the tree.

A few hours later, Orochimaru had completely disappeared from the forest, and Anko was limping back to the exam's headquarters, nursing her speared hand, which contained a few broken knuckles also. The curse seal on her neck throbbed painfully. She felt terribly angry at herself, for letting that man escape, but she knew had she hunted him any further, she would be dead, and there would be no one to inform the Hokage of his plans.

"Godammit," she muttered, sounding scarily like her blonde, orange-clad parallel. "God-_dammit! _Damn that man! Damn that cursed, evil creature! Not now! Not after we've finally got some peace in this country!" Next to Anko, dutifully sticking by her side, Naruto's canary cheeped with sympathy. It flapped its tiny wings as it stuttered through the air beside her, highly aware of all the presences about them.

With a sigh, Anko hopped out of the border of the forest and into the large plains that surrounded the wire-fenced death-pen for miles; large, lonesome rocks burst wonkily and haphazardly from the ground about her, casting long shadows in the newly emerging moonlight. Groaning quietly, and rubbing her aching neck, Anko turned to the little bird.

"Go back, now," she told it bluntly. "Return to Naruto, make sure he's not in any danger still. Tell him I'm sorry I couldn't make it to him while Orochimaru was still there." The canary chirped its assent, but still didn't move. Anko frowned, and glanced around. "What's the matter?"

Suddenly, there came a low, curious growl, followed by a lower, _hungrier_ one. She cursed. "Dammit, not now! I don't have the time!" But the mammoth tigers, creeping upon her from both sides, paid her tone no heed, and simply prowled closer. A jolt of pain sizzled through Anko's neck, paralysing her. "Oh, no! _Ow!_" She shut her eyes, waiting for a blow from a giant claw.

It never came. Instead, there was a high-pitched moan, and the thunk of two large felines collapsing to the floor. Anko opened her eyes. _'Paralysis jutsu?'_

"Anko!" came a cry. "There you are!" And out of the steadily falling darkness, two ANBU alighted on the grass in front of her. "Your proctors thought something bad had happened when they couldn't find you," continued the first one. "Eventually they called us in to look."

The second, nodding, added, "Apparently Kotetsu found the bodies of three participants, around a week old, way before these exams even started. He's insistent that you take a look— hey, are you listening?"

But Anko wasn't. Pain had suddenly erupted along her shoulder, and with a shocked gasp, she tightened her grip upon her neck, falling unsteadily to the ground.

"Anko!" Both specially trained assassins dropped to help her up, propping her trembling form between them.

"The mark on your neck…" one murmured in shock. "Don't tell me that _he_—?"

"Y-yeah…" Anko gasped, sweat beading on her forehead as she struggled to lift her gaze through the pain. "I-I need to speak to Sandaime. _Now_."

"Right!" They hefted her up, slinging her arms about their shoulders, when suddenly Naruto's bird let out a small, concerned shriek from atop one of the large stones. The ANBU turned back. "What's this bird doing, Anko?"

Anko looked back over her shoulder, and smirked slightly through her distress. "It's just a friend," she uttered as casual as she could manage, pulling on a coping face. "I'll be fine," she said to the canary, "Go back, now, like I said. Don't you worry about me." The bird cocked its head to one side for a second, before letting out a small cheep and flying off with a flap of its bright wings.

The three ninja turned back to the way they were headed, and as they sped away with a jutsu aiding their haste, one ANBU adjusted his grip around Anko and laughed, "Why Anko, never had you pinned as Konoha's Bird Whisperer!"

Anko growled, scowling. "Shut it, you."

Meanwhile, the small bird in question was hurrying back as fast as it could, worried at the state its companion might be in. However, by this time it had been flying almost non-stop for hours, and even the short rest it had had upon Anko's shoulder hadn't managed to cure all of its exhaustion.

Its small wings flapped helplessly as it began to loose momentum, gradually drooping down through the air. Its miniature stomach grumbled ravenously, and the bird decided to stop and see what morsels it could scrounge to eat before taking off again. With a soft, twittering sigh, the canary landed upon the forest ground; even in the moonlight its bright yellow feathers stood out against the dirt.

Scrabbling here and there, digging with its sharp little beak, searching with its beady eyes (their black colour the only differing feature between itself and Naruto's henge form) along the ground for an array of small bugs, the canary began to hop to and fro along the forest floor, growing happier as it realised what a feast the deadly woods provided. Suddenly, though, a sharp crack resounded through the quiet clearing, and the bird let out a sharp squawk of distress as its feet were swept out from under it.

Netting snapped up from the leaf-strewn floor, encompassing the small bird in a dangling prison of thick rope. Its feathers ruffled and a mess, the small bird let out a fearful chirp of distress. It was still evening time, so no doubt the trap had been set to catch the evening meal. How on earth could he reach his master now? Its wings flapped hopelessly, tangling up further in the trap, and the further it got stuck, the harder the little bird struggled.

All of a sudden, though, footsteps were approaching, and a twig snapped not too far away. The canary froze. It looked like the hunter had been lurking not too far away, and now the little bird managed to spot light from a small campfire through the trees. It had been foolish to land here.

The person was right up close, now, and there was the soft _thwip_ of a kunai being drawn from a holster. With a dizzying thunk, the netting and its cargo thudded to the floor. From its crumbled position on the ground, all that the bird could see of its captor was the glint of the kunai, and hear their even breaths whispering in and out beneath the hood of their cloak.

A voice carried through the clearing from the trees not far away, in the direction of the camp. "Hey, what've you caught?" The ninja who had set the trap didn't reply to their teammate, and simply crouched to untangle the small bird from its rope bindings. With a muffled tweet, the canary hopped to its feet and stared up at its captor, wondering why it hadn't been seized yet.

Instead of grabbing the bird, the Genin was leaning in closer, and the canary heard a gentle intake of breath. "Oh!" the ninja uttered softly with surprise. "It's you!" A palm was extended and, curious, the canary hopped on. It recognised that voice. "Long time no see, Natsu-kun."

Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, Hinata, with her Byakugan activated, glanced around nervously for any signs of danger. She was on-edge and desperately straining all her senses for any whisper of trouble. Earlier in the exam, Team 8 had had a run-in with a team of Taki-nin. Fortunately, they had gotten away as the victor, as well as obtaining an extra Earth Scroll, but they did not get away unscathed.

Noticing Team 8's obvious reliance upon the Inuzuka of the group, the foreign ninja had targeted Hinata – obviously the weakest member. However, being both very smart and yet very dumb, Akamaru leapt from his master's jacket to protect the girl. Stabbed in the side, the dog was quickly put out of commission. Kiba, in anger and without a partner, attacked recklessly, leaving many openings for their enemies. He took one down and heavily injured another, but not before receiving several slashes, some which were rather deep.

But Kiba, not one to be easily put down, kept right on attacking. With his active movements, his blood pumped rapidly through his veins and poured from his wounds unchecked; he shortly fell unconscious from blood loss. After that, only Shino-kun and his kikaichu were left to defend the team, as Hinata, the one with the most medical knowledge, tended to her wounded teammates through apologetic tears. Shino-kun easily won the battle, and was currently setting traps around their new temporary hideout.

Just then, another team entered her vision, about fifteen meters away. Hinata's heart gave a jolt, and immediately she whispered this discovery to the kikaichu left behind by her teammate, where it perched upon her shoulder. Instantly, it flew away.

Hinata watched the team wearily with her Byakugan, observing how they paused for a moment by a large tree. Her eyes tired from the earlier battle (and still slightly misty with tears), she could not see clearly whether they were friend or foe. They seemed to be discussing something, although Hinata could neither hear nor guess what. Unfortunately, unlike her prodigious cousin, and much to the disappointment of her father, she had never mastered the art of lip reading. Suddenly, the team split, and with a short gasp of dismay, Hinata realised that one of them was speeding in their direction. Be it coincidence or not, Hinata didn't want to find out who this ninja was- not without Shino as backup.

She turned on her heel quickly and began to make her way back to their hideout; however, with her nerves on edge, she failed to spot the uneven ground where a tree stump burst out into the clearing. She tripped, and fell. With a soft cry, Hinata thought she was going to land face-first on the ground, but suddenly there was an arm, catching her about the shoulders. She gasped in surprise.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked her anxiously, "Are you hurt?"

As Hinata recovered from her surprise, she realised that the boy who caught her must've been the ninja speeding towards their group. She glanced up at his concern, and hoped that the shinobi wasn't just luring her into a sense of comfort.

She gasped upon recognising him: he had been one of the ninja that Sasuke had asked that Kabuto guy about — Rock Lee. More importantly, he was also her cousin's teammate. Hinata pulled away from him in sudden fear.

"Oh, no!" Lee suddenly gasped, seeing her anxious face, "You're Neji's cousin, right? I'm not going to fight you!"

The kunoichi looked up at him uncertainly. It was no secret that her cousin disliked — no, loathed the main branch of the Hyuuga Clan — and Hinata, being the weak heiress that she was, was also the target of his hatred. "You're not?" she asked quietly.

"Of course not!" Lee replied resolutely, getting into his Good Guy pose — his legs apart, his fist out and his thumb up; his set of white teeth sparking in the light gleaming through the dense forest canopy. Suddenly, it occurred to Lee that they were alone, and glancing around the clearing, he asked, "Where are you team mates? Why did he leave a pretty lady like you all alone?"

A pink hue made its way across Hinata's pale cheeks, and she looked down in embarrassment. Poking the tips of her index fingers together, like she always did when she was nervous, she replied quietly, "Shino-kun is off placing traps, and Kiba-kun is…He— he got injured. He's lying over that way; I wanted to look out for enemies because… because it was my fault he…" She broke off with a shake of her head, and fixed her eyes on the ground. "…They aimed for me because I'm the weakest…"

Suddenly, Lee's hand touched her shoulder. Surprised by the sudden action, she looked up. "Do not blame yourself," he told her kindly, flashing her his shiny white teeth once again.

Smiling shyly, her eyes darted to the ground again. "Thank you," Hinata said softly with a blush decorating her pale cheeks. A few seconds later, she asked, "Why did your team spilt up, Lee-kun?"

Lee shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Neji thought it would be best to see how many scrolls we could each gather, and going separately will cut our time in getting to the tower."

Hinata blinked up at him. "That's…ano… a little unfair, isn't it? Collecting scrolls?"

The other ninja seemed surprised at her assumption, and was taken aback a moment before replying, "Well, you could call it that outside of this competition, but in here it will be better in the long run if fewer teams pass. And we can use the extras as bribes if we get into trouble. It's all about narrowing the threat, Neji says, and in this case I have to agree with him. It makes sense."

It seemed Lee had still said the wrong thing, however, as Hinata's gaze returned to the floor, and she began twisting her hands fretfully. "There's even less of a chance, now…" she mumbled forlornly.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked her, concerned.

The kunoichi shook her head, and suddenly she was tearful, her voice brimming with shame. "With me on this team, Kiba-kun and Shino-kun were already disadvantaged, but now with teams collecting more than one scroll, there's no way we're going to be able to find one for ourselves…"

"Not necessarily," Lee replied softly, and suddenly he was digging in his pouch. Hinata's eyes went wide with disbelief as he drew out a scroll. "Is this the one you need? Take it." She shook her head slightly, mouth agape, but Lee pressed it into her hands. "We picked this up earlier, I'll easily replace it. I…" he paused. "Girls shouldn't cry. And besides, what's the point of collecting scrolls if we can't help out fellow Konoha teams?"

Slowly, Hinata took the scroll from him. "T-thank you, Lee-kun," she said hesitantly, "but I don't know if I can get through this forest…"

Lee just smiled at her. "You can," he said. Hinata blinked as his hand gripped her shoulder reassuringly. "To get this far already, I know you can. You need to prove that to yourself, and here's your chance." The Hyuuga gulped slightly at his words, but her eyes were clearing of tears. Lee flashed her another dazzling smile, and caused her to blush. Her heart was beating just that much faster. "I think" he said, "you could even face Neji."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously. "There's no _way_ I can face Neji-niisan!" she said matter-of-factly, raising her voice for the first time. "I'm weak..." Hinata looked downwards, ashamed. "Even my younger sister, Hanabi, can defeat me. And Neji-niisan is much stronger than her."

Lee shook his head slowly, disappointed by her lack of self-confidence. "Strength isn't all that counts, Hinata-san," he explained to the girl gently, bending to her eye level. "Bloodlines are bloodlines, but even kekkai genkai can be beaten if you just have the courage to face them."

Hinata blinked at him, disbelievingly. "But…" she stammered. "But I don't have the courage to face Neji-niisan. He's too…" She trailed off. She could only think 'scary', but didn't want to seem cowardly, even more so than she already was. Lee, however, seemed to read her mind, because he chuckled. Hinata blushed in embarrassment. "G-gomen."

"Don't apologise," he replied as his humour abated. "You may not know it Hinata, but you've already got that courage. At the moment, its only leaking out in little drops – just look at what you've accomplished in this exam already – and I think that whoever you face in the future, you'll face up to them as an equal. You may not win the first time, but you'll know you can do it when the next time comes."

Despite his encouraging words, Hinata still looked doubtful.

"Trust me, Hinata-san," Lee reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I believe in you." He smiled, and pushed the scroll into her hands. "So, take this scroll back to your teammates, and I'll see you in the next round."

Tentatively, she wrapped her hands around the scroll. "Thank you," she said softly, before declaring suddenly with determination in her eyes, "I'll make it up to you, Lee-san."

Lee chuckled, because he could tell from the sudden conviction in her voice that she would be adamant on repaying him. "Alright," he replied light-heartedly, getting to his feet. "Then I shall meet up with you some time in the future, Hinata-chan!" Then, with a cheery wave, he sped off into the forest.

Meanwhile, Naruto crouched in the hollow of an old tree, looking out onto an eerily quiet clearing whilst his two teammates lay unconscious at his back. He couldn't deny that he was worried for them, just as much as he couldn't deny the throbbing ache shooting through his navel. He still felt shaky and weak from the battle, but he knew that, until Sasuke and Sakura woke up, it was up to him to protect them.

Alone with his thoughts, he tensed at every small snap of a twig, every rustle of the leaves surrounding them. There was a constant shadow falling over him, nothing more than the threat of Orochimaru still conquering his mind, but it was enough to make him jolt at the slightest thing, in case it was the Hebi Sannin's return.

He didn't know how long he knelt there, every muscle taunt and twitching, his hand gripping his weapons with white-knuckle tension; the seconds blurred into one another, and he couldn't tell whether seven minutes was seven hours. Every single one of his senses was on fire, and the ache in his gut pulsed with his rapid heartbeat. His eyes darted across every inch of the forest he could see, and there was a static in his ears from the ferocious silence.

For all his vigilance, though, he didn't sense the enemy until they were mere meters from him. He cursed, realising how much he had relied on Musha to alert him to these things. He leapt to his feet, and easily slipped into a defensive stance, his kunai held outstretched to the approaching chakra signatures.

They thrust themselves to the ground with an eagerness that made Naruto queasy in his disadvantaged state, and he had to swallow a few times before the pressure in his throat lessened enough for him to speak without hoarseness in his voice.

"Who are you?" he demanded of the three Genin in front of him, his voice steady despite his inner apprehension. "What do you want?"

They stepped forward slightly, spreading out around him as one, before the stopping guy to his left replied with a menacing curdle to his smooth voice, "You'd think, from the state of your two teammates over there, you would already know what we want, Uzumaki Naruto. Orochimaru-sama wants to see how you're fairing after your little… _encounter _with him."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he crouched down slightly lower, flexing his free hand; his nails had grown longer and sharper. He bared his pointed canines and a low rumble escaped his throat. Even with these changes, there was no large surge of chakra, and it felt a struggle for even these automatic changes to take place. Naruto was reminded harshly of Musha's silence, and he grew angry. This was all Orochimaru's fault!There was no way in hell that he was going to let these subordinates mess with his team. He'd beat the crap out of them. That was for sure! And he'd find out _everything_ they knew about Orochimaru and his plans.

"Well then," Naruto spat at the three Genin before him. "What does _Orochimaru _want? And just what the hell has he done to my teammates?"

The first ninja, undeterred by the Konoha-nin's changes, just shrugged one shoulder in a noncommittal gesture. "Who knows," he replied simply. "We're just here to fight you."

Naruto's whole being tensed at his words, and although he knew these guys were here for a fight, he started to grow apprehensive. Who was to say this team was really at Genin-level? Sometimes, a rank was merely a label and nothing else. He should know. However, with the state he was in, he didn't know if he could take all of them at once. Still, he shifted his weight, ready for a quick spring, and growled determinedly, "What are you waiting for then?"

The Jinchuuriki didn't want an answer, though, because as soon as the words left his mouth, he leapt forwards with a short yell, meeting his assailants before they could advance any closer to his unconscious team.

A loud clang rang through the clearing as his kunai met the mummified ninja's metal arm guard. Suddenly, a large gust of air struck the blonde from the side. He staggered slightly before managing to spring away. Taking a glance, he spotted the other male with his arms outstretched towards him. To Naruto's astonishment, a hole, lined with metal, was bored into each of his palms – most likely where the wind hailed from. It amazed Naruto sometimes, the lengths some ninja would go to in order to achieve higher power.

He had no time to retaliate against the second male, however, as the whisper of slicing air alerted Naruto to a flurry of senbon hurtling towards him. The Jinchuuriki ducked and rolled to avoid the pinpoint accuracy of the kunoichi's needles, but as he jumped to his feet again, a fist flew towards his face. He gave a short growl; his momentum was carrying him straight into the punch. He quickly formed a sign, and a shadow clone appearing in a puff of smoke, hooking its fingers into the back of his jacket and pulling him out of the path of the mummy-man's assault. The enemy's fist barely grazed his nose, but just as he was about to laugh in the ninja's face, something sharp twanged deep in his eardrums and Naruto gave a short yelp, reflexively gripping at his ears.

The Oto-nin laughed as he arrogantly explained the function of his weapon. Naruto growled in frustration – how on earth could he protect himself against sound waves? Those buggers could get anywhere! And he didn't expect they responded to kunai or a mouthful of swearwords. Desperately, Naruto tried to call Musha again, but it was futile.

'_Well,' _he thought as he slipped into a defensive stance, _'Looks like I'll just have to fight with burst eardrums.'_

With a fierce, jutted jerk of his chin, Naruto, scowling, beckoned his enemies to come at him. Had they been ordinary Genin, the blistering scorch of Naruto's glare and the killing intent he was unconsciously emitting would've had the Oto-nin at the very least hesitating to confront the Jinchuuriki. However, these three ninja were bred to carry out Orochimaru's bidding, no matter what it was. Naruto's fierceness only proceeded to make them more eager to fight him.

The girl – Kin, they called her – suddenly leapt forwards, unleashing another flurry of senbon in Naruto's direction. At the same time, the mummy-man returned on the offensive with his weapon fully at the ready. Naruto dug his heels into the dirt, enforcing them with chakra much like the tree climbing exercise, and prepared to meet them with his fists.

The sound of their fighting was cacophonous, and the noise pierced through Sakura's groggy limbo with unpleasant precision. Involuntarily, she groaned, and her eyes cracked slowly open.

Through her blurred vision, Sakura could just make out an orange splotch, moving to and fro against a dark green backdrop. Metallic clangs and grunts cut through her bleary mind.

'_Nani?' _She blinked several times and brought a hand up to rub her eyes. Suddenly, a dull but disabling ache blossomed in her arm. The kunoichi gasped, and clutched the limb to her chest. She stayed like that for several moments until the ache eased off, and by that time, her vision had righted itself. She was met with the sight of a heated battle. Naruto was fighting three strange, foreign ninja.

At first, she was confused. Questions flashed across her mind, one after another. Then, as if a switch had been suddenly turned on, everything came back to her — the Chuunin exams, the Forest of Death, the weird Kusa-nin. With sharp, uneasy clarity, she could also remember taking an attack for Sasuke-kun, a huge surge of pain, and then nothing.

'_Did Sasuke-kun and Naruto manage to fight that Kusa-nin off?_' she wondered.

A rustle of cloth by her side distracted her from her question, though, and gave rise to her fangirl mode. She squealed in delight. She was lying next to Sasuke-kun! He must've been so worried about her!

"Sakura?" Naruto's voice brought her out of her reverie. "You're awake!"

That was a mistake. Naruto's exclamation alerted the Oto-nins' attentions to the girl. There came a sharp word from mummy-man — Dosu — and his male teammate flitted around Naruto and leapt forward, leaving Kin to destabilise the Jinchuuriki with her special bells. Sakura gasped, realising that he was headed for her and her comatose Sasuke-kun, and tottered to her feet. Her legs felt as heavy as lead, and her hands trembled with the sudden action as she whipped out a kunai.

"D-don't!" she cried. "Don't come a step closer!"

Her assailant only grinned maliciously, and took another taunting step forward. "What're you going to do about it, girlie?" he sneered. "Now, get out of my way, or I'll move you myself."

Sakura stared at him with anxious, fearful eyes as Naruto, hindered by the effects of Kin's bells, cursed on the sidelines. Simultaneously, they both realised what the Sound ninja wanted.

"You— You want Sasuke-kun…?" the Konoha kunoichi stuttered. "N-no!"

The youth just laughed, and advanced upon the girl and his prone target. He jeered, "Guess I'll have to get rid of you first—!"

"Zaku, wait."

Zaku stopped short, twisting to stare incredulously at his teammate. "What?" he asked. "Why?"

Dosu, however, was staring at Sakura. Or to be specific, he was staring at her arm. His visible eye had narrowed into a suspicious slit that made Sakura feel extremely uncomfortable. She glanced around her, but saw nothing worthy to be stared at — except for her precious Sasuke-kun, of course! She couldn't let them harm him!

But, Dosu knew differently. He knew the purplish splotch on her arm was no bruise. It was Orochimaru's signature mark, a gift for his best ninjas — his cursed seal. Only, there was something different about this one. It was a symbol Dosu had never seen before, though, and it was poorly formed — not nearly as sharply defined as his master's usual works. Just what on earth was going on? Then, he realised, and a wicked smirk curled his face beneath his bandages. This girl was a _mistake_. And Orochimaru would reward them greatly for getting rid of his mistake.

"Kin! Zaku!" Dosu called out, catching their attention. "Kill that girl!"

"Oh no you don't," Naruto said, darting in between them, a kunai at the ready. "Not a step closer!" he threatened. "Or I get serious!"

Kin laughed. "Do you think we're idiots?" she rebuked, using her senbon to point challengingly at him. "You're struggling. You have, what, a drop of chakra left at best? And pinkie there, she doesn't look of much use."

Shielded by Naruto, Sakura suddenly felt a lot more confident. "What?" she cried, a vein pulsing in her forehead. "Pinkie?"

"Steady, Sakura," Naruto murmured over his shoulder. "These guys aren't in this exam for the promotion. They have other motives entirely."

The kunoichi blinked, feeling her confidence drain. "Like what?" she whispered back. "Are they—? Do they want t-to… hurt Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto shook his head, keeping his eyes on their enemies. "They aren't here to kill him, Sakura."

She gulped. "B-but, how can you be sure?"

"They're underlings of Orochimaru—"

"Orochi…maru?"

"—That man who attacked us. He doesn't want Sasuke dead, or he would've just killed all three of us when he had the chance. That, and…"

"And? Naruto?"

Naruto twisted around to look at her. She was trembling with exhaustion and fear, and he could see anxious tears swimming in her eyes – but she was still standing, kunai in hand. Her stance was solid and steady. Naruto smiled.

"And," he said, "I won't let them." He turned back to the three Oto-nin, his jaw set and a ferocious glare in his eyes. "I'll only say it once," he told them. "You won't get further than me."

They laughed in his face. "Big words," Kin sneered, "for such a little man. How much strength do you have left?"

"Enough for you circus freaks!" Naruto barked back. He glanced over his shoulder again and said quietly, "Sakura, don't move from this spot." She nodded, and Naruto heard her grip tighten around her weapon.

Suddenly, the Jinchuuriki leapt forward. He moved quickly, the balls of his feet digging at the dirt and stamping stones into the earth. Kunai in hand, he threw himself bodily at Dosu, aiming a wild stab at his side, below his outstretched arm. Dosu, however, was just as fast, and managed to smash his sound device into Naruto's neck with a heavy swipe of his forearm. Undeterred, the blonde used the momentum to place his hands on the floor and donkey-kick the mummy-man square in the chest. He stumbled backwards, and Naruto darted away to intercept Zaku, who was hurtling towards his teammates.

Naruto collided with the other boy and tackled him off his course, rolling with the Oto-nin through the dirt. The Jinchuuriki slammed his fist repeatedly into Zaku's body as they rolled, a particularly hard punch to the stomach allowing him to wind Zaku and pin him to the ground. Settled astride the boy's chest, every muscle in his body tensed for a struggle, Naruto smashed his knuckles across Zaku's face once, twice, and felt the Oto-lackey's nose crunch. Zaku howled out, his hands scrabbling blindly around him for something to cave Naruto's skull in.

All of a sudden, Naruto let out a choked gasp as someone grabbed his collar from behind and pulled him forcefully off his enemy. He kicked his legs out, trying to gain a footing, and strained to yank the person's hands from his collar.

"You-_ack _sonofa—!"

His captor pressed the tip of her senbon to his jugular. "You move," Kin hissed next to his ear. "You even _think _about moving, and I skewer you through the neck right now." She tightened her grip on his collar, causing Naruto to have an even harder time catching his breath. He pulled at his zipper as he glared up at her.

"Like you _could_," he spat, anger boiling through his veins. Suddenly, his eyes flashed a deep, blood red, and Kin yelped in surprise. Too bad that in his current state, cut off from Musha, it was nothing more than a parlour trick. The split second lapse was all Naruto needed, though, and he jabbed his elbow into her navel. Kin doubled over with a cough, and Naruto twisted on his knees, sweeping her legs from under her. He scrambled away quickly, feeling his leg scrape unpleasantly against a rock. He pushed himself quickly to his feet and dodged a few senbon sent hurtling his way — Kin obviously recovered quickly from surprises.

Naruto sidestepped to the left and twisted to face the kunoichi. He began to form hand seals, but a sharp cry from Sakura made him falter. The ground exploded under his feet. He was thrown through the air like a ragdoll, and smashed heavily into the trunk of a tree. The bark splintered against his back; he could feel the wood ploughing under his skin. Gravity then showed itself, and he landed on the ground with a thud.

Zaku was laughing at him through the bloody stream flooding his nose and mouth, hands outstretched on the ground, palms down. He had channelled his sound waves into the earth, and caused them to compress the dirt beneath his feet. Naruto cursed, and rolled to his feet slowly. His leg twanged with pain, and he could feel the small gashes on his back throb sorely — they were pitted with grit and splinters, and would get infected if they weren't treated soon, especially without Musha. Damn Orochimaru's seal!

The Jinchuuriki snarled at Kin and Zaku, who were closing in on him slowly. They were grinning; they knew he was out of chakra, and they knew they had him cornered.

"Musha…" Naruto muttered beneath his breath. "Dammit, you lousy fox…"

Suddenly, Sakura screamed.

Naruto blanched, and whipped around. Sakura was in a headlock, half-dragged to her feet, and a kunai at her throat. The blonde had forgotten all about Dosu, and now his teammates were going to be killed! Naruto felt a sick panic rising in his throat. There was nothing he could do!

"Well, kid," Dosu leered. "Any last words you want your precious teammate to hear?"

Sakura whimpered as the kunai bit at her soft neck. "N-Naruto…" A few tears tumbled from her eye; she didn't dare take her gaze from her captor.

"I know," Dosu continued, tightening his grip on her. "How about you apologise? For letting her _die?_"

Everything happened so fast. Dosu plunged the blade towards Sakura's exposed neck. The girl's eyes widened. Naruto screamed her name, launched himself towards her. There was a flash of yellow. Zaku caught him by the waist, threw him to the ground. Another yell. A thud. Sakura cried out.

She was on the floor. Sakura was on the floor and Naruto yelled her name. She was wailing and trembling in the dirt as Dosu cursed, thrashing about. A small, yellow bird was chirruping loudly as it flew at the Oto-nin's head, pecking at his fingers and his arms.

"_Natsu…" _Naruto breathed. That must mean he had brought Anko! Without waiting to look around, Naruto darted to Sakura's side, picking her up off the floor and grabbing her firmly by the shoulders. "Sakura," he said. "Sakura, you're okay, you're fine." Sakura was whimpering still, her face marred with dirt that stuck to streams of salty tears. Her hands were shaking terribly as she reached out blindly for Naruto.

"N-Naruto," she gasped, clutching his shirt tightly. "Naruto, he— he almost—"

Naruto checked her over quickly, only half-registering the sound of fighting behind him and the yells of Kin and Zaku. No doubt, Anko had arrived hot on Natsu's tail. Sakura's neck was red and raw from the tight headlock Dosu had her in, but other than a thin scratch, the kunai hadn't harmed her. Naruto breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, rubbing a comforting circle on the kunoichi's back. As Sakura reached up to scrub at her eyes, though, Naruto caught sight of what had set Dosu off. It was the mark on Sakura's upper arm, the one Orochimaru had put there. He had assumed it was the same as Sasuke's, but now Naruto had the chance to look at it closely once more, he realised it was different — not only in shape, but in clarity. Naruto also realised what Dosu had not — had Sakura's mark been an accident, Orochimaru would have simply killed her. Naruto cast a discreet glance over Sakura's face, feeling dread creep up upon him. She wasn't a test of loyalty for Orochimaru's lackeys, to see if they could clean up — she was an experiment.

Naruto's thoughts were suddenly cut off, however, by a shadow falling across him and his teammate.

"Oi," came a voice Naruto recognised. "Still fighting here!"

Naruto stood, relieved to finally have some back up, even if it was the lewdest chuunin proctor he had ever met. "Anko," he uttered as turned to her, "it's about time you—" but the words died in his throat. It wasn't Anko. Instead, one of the Mist ninja, the hooded one, from the first exam stood in front of him, poised to fend off any attacks, addressing him over her shoulder.

"If you can still fight," she barked with frantic impatience, "then help me!"

Naruto leapt to his feet to oblige; strictly speaking, Kiri and Konoha weren't exactly allies, but the blonde wasn't one to kick aside help when he absolutely needed it. He and the Kiri-nin bolted forwards towards their enemies. They were outnumbered three to two and his chakra control was a wreck, but Naruto paid the odds no heed; he was pissed, and they were going to pay for it!

"Wait!"

All of a sudden, just as he was about to launch on forward, a hand pulled him back by the shoulder. Naruto spun around to face the Kiri-nin with a cry of dispute, but the shout died on his tongue as, through the gap of her heavy cloak, Naruto spied a familiar chainabout her neck. Shock froze his limbs, and for a moment he stared dumbly at the hooded ninja, unaware that she was saying something.

That wasn't hers. How could she have that…? Did she— did she steal it? Anger began to boil in his gut, but before Naruto could act upon it, something entirely different caught his attention – it was Sasuke. The Mist kunoichi had tried to tell him earlier. The Uchiha was awake, on his feet with a wild, hungry look in his eyes. Dark markings spread like flames across the left side of his body, and an evil, malicious chakra emanated from him. Naruto felt all his other thoughts and worries simply fly out of his head. Just what had Orochimaru done to Sasuke? And would that happen to Sakura as well?

Said prodigal child looked about him slowly with something akin to amusement in his eyes. The Oto-nin almost blanched at his cool disposition. Orochimaru had bestowed something special upon him, no doubt about it. A heavy scowl began to darken his face, though, as he caught sight of Sakura trembling on the ground beside him.

"Sakura…?" the Uchiha asked quietly, taking in her reddened, bruised neck and her shaking body. "Sakura, who did that to you?" But Sakura was struck dumb by the monstrous sight of her Sasuke-kun. His voice grew sterner. "Who, Sakura?"

Suddenly, Zaku began to laugh. "Are you stupid?" he spat with a chuckle. "Can't you read a situation?"

"Actually…" Sasuke replied evenly, his face splitting into a wild half-grin. "I just want to know which of you to kill first!" In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Zaku. Sakura screamed Sasuke's name, finding her voice at last, but it was too late to stop him grabbing the Oto-nin and propelling a knee into his gut. As the momentum caused Zaku to stagger forward, Sasuke elbowed the ninja in the temple, and he hit the floor.

Instantly, Kin darted forward and leapt on Sasuke, but the Uchiha was too fast. He simply caught her by the throat, lifted her, and propelled her backwards with such force that she crashed into the undergrowth, and didn't get up.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried again. "Please!"

Zaku ran at Sasuke again, diving to tackle the Uchiha's legs. Sasuke sidestepped him easily, however, and with a soft snort of amused contempt, stomped Zaku's head into the dirt. Zaku struggled for a moment, choking on a mouthful of dirt. As he struggled, however, he somehow managed to place his palms on the earth.

Dosu's uncovered eye widened as he saw what his teammate was about to do; if Zaku blew the ground from under Sasuke, he would catch himself in the blast too! Even so, before Dosu could intervene, Zaku exploded the earth below him and his assailant. A giant cloud of dust filled the air. Naruto and Sakura looked on in horror; there was no way Sasuke could have escaped that blast!

But he did. The dust cleared, and Zaku was lying unconscious in the middle of a small crater whilst Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, until—

"Last one," Sasuke declared as he appeared behind Dosu.

The Oto-nin span quickly on his heel, jumping at Sasuke's sudden appearance. "Wait!" he entreated with an open-palmed gesture. "I'll give you our scroll. It's clear you're too strong for us. So, take it."

His offer made Sasuke pause.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura called out as she pushed herself to her feet. "Sasuke-kun, please stop. All we need is their scroll, you don't have to— you don't—" Sasuke turned his eye on her, and Sakura lost her voice. There was something in his eyes that made her cringe, some deep hunger, deep anger, that she felt she shouldn't be seeing. She lowered her eyes to the floor. "Please, Sasuke-kun."

For a moment, no one said a thing. Then, very slowly, the markings receded from Sasuke's skin, and as one, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Without another word, Dosu dropped his scroll to the floor, picked up his teammates and left.

Sakura immediately ran forward, her previous trauma forgotten. "Sasuke-kun!" She threw her arms around him, thwarting his attempts to shrug her off, and said, "I was so worried! What did that Kusa-nin do to you?"

However, before Sasuke could say anything, an angry yell interrupted him. The two Genin jumped, and twisted round just in time to see Naruto grab their rescuer by the collar of her thin cloak. There was an intake of surprise from beneath the girl's hood, but she didn't retaliate.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried. "What on earth are you doing?" But her cry went unheeded.

"Where did you get that? It's not yours!" Naruto hissed, jabbing the girl's chest, just below her necklace. "It doesn't belong to you! Did you steal it? Huh?"

For a moment, the girl said nothing, but when she did answer, there was a curious laughter in her voice that _really _pissed Naruto off. "But it _is_ mine," she said in amusement.

Naruto growled in anger, feeling his inhibitions snap. "It's not!" he rebuked, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her violently, his rage exploding. "It's not yours, it's—!" The words died on his lips. His hands fell to his sides as he stumbled backwards in shock. The Kiri-nin's hood had fallen from her face, and Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. He found it hard to draw breath as he stared, dumbfounded, at his rescuer. His heart pounded in his ears from shock.

"Naruto?" Sakura said. "Naruto, what's wrong? Who is she?"

Naruto's voice stuttered slowly to life. "T-this…er… this is… She…"

Slowly, the Mist kunoichi let her cloak fall from her shoulders, to reveal herself clearly to the three Genin. There was nothing spectacular about her, from what Sakura could see. Her appearance was reminiscent of Haku's: she was wearing a blue haori, which was fastened with her hitai-ateinstead of a regular sash. The cloth of her headband was white, matching her snow-coloured hair. She wore plain black trousers that cut off at her knees. Her hair was tied back off her face, except for her bangs. A few seconds later, a small yellow canary (where had that come from? Sakura wondered) perched on the kunoichi's shoulder and chirped at Naruto. Whilst Sakura didn't find anything particularly remarkable about her, the blonde couldn't take his eyes away. He was still in shock, and shaking his head slightly.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked again, moving forward slightly in concern. "Are you okay?" When Naruto didn't answer, however, she turned to the Kiri-nin in suspicion. "Who are you?" she demanded from the kunoichi. "What do you want?"

The kunoichi didn't answer, she didn't even look around. However, Sakura's voice seemed to break a spell, and instead, almost in reply, the Mist-ninja took just one small step forward, and laced her arms around Naruto's neck, hugging him. The blonde let out a shaky gasp, and he finally found his voice.

"I— I thought you—" His arms hesitantly wrapped around her waist in response, and pulled her closer to him. There was that scent again, the one he recognised in the first exam. Now, though, he could place it. She was still a bit taller than him — his head only reached the bottom of her eyes. He waited for a crack about his height, but it didn't come. He took a breath, and tried to speak again. "T-they told me you had— that you were—" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

The girl shook her head. "No," she murmured. "No." Then she pulled back, and suddenly her face split into a wide smile. "You're still an idiot I see, Naru-chan."

Naruto blinked, almost laughed (_there _was the taunt he'd been expecting), and then his face darkened. "Hey! I'm not an idiot, Kaede!"

"Are too," she rebuked with a smothered giggle, smiling fondly at the sudden familiarity.

"Am _not!_"

Sakura and Sasuke looked from one to the other, really confused, as the duo continued on bickering. What's more, their voices were rising (Naruto being easy to provoke, as usual), and Sakura couldn't get their ambush from her mind. Jolting to her feet suddenly, she yelled, "_Shut up!_"

Naruto and the girl, Kaede, blinked at her. They would've had good cause to be offended if they hadn't seen the panicked look in her eyes.

"Do you _want _more enemies to come?" the kunoichi demanded weakly, still trembling. "And— and just who are you?" she asked, jabbing a finger at the mist ninja. "How do we know you aren't an enemy, too? Did you save us just to pick us off now we're weak? Is that it?"

Kaede said nothing for a moment, looking the girl up and down. Sakura was dirty and bruised, her pink hair tangled and matted and her eyes wide and wet with shell-shock, but her mouth was a grim line. Seeing this, the Mist kunoichi let her face relax in a smile, and showed her palm in a peaceful gesture.

"I'm not here to fight you, girl," she said. "My team has enough scrolls, and we're not collectors." She brought up a hand to scoop the little yellow bird from her shoulder. "I just followed Natsu…" she passed him to his master "…to where I was needed." All of a sudden, she held out her hand with a smile. "I'm Higurashi Kaede. Nice to meet you."

Sakura looked from Kaede, to Naruto, to the bird (Naruto had a _bird?_), and then back to Kaede. Slowly, she took the hand that was being offered to her. "…Sakura," she replied with uncertainty, more than a little bemused by the situation. "Ano, you… know Naruto?"

The Kiri-nin laughed, "Oh, yeah, me and sparky go way back!"

"Oi!" — Naruto was ignored.

Sakura still had a confused frown creasing her brow. She looked awfully pale. "You know Naruto… but you're from Kiri? And…"

"Yeah," Kaede said, moving forward. "Are you feeling alright? You look sick." She put her hand on Sakura's arm, and steered her to the tree hollow where she and Sasuke had first been laying. "You're still shaken up from the fight, no doubt. Sit."

As Kaede tried to settle Sakura's nerves, Naruto moved over to Sasuke, who seemed not to have noticed the brief words between the kunoichi. He was staring at the scroll in his hands, and wondering.

"Sasuke," Naruto intoned as he stopped by the Uchiha's side. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" The other boy didn't seem to hear him the first time, didn't even look at him, so Naruto asked again, reaching out to touch Sasuke's shoulder – to touch him, and to sneak a glance at the mark on his neck. At the Jinchuuriki's touch, Sasuke jumped as if the blonde had shocked him. "Idiot!" he snapped, swatting Naruto's hand away. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"

Naruto shot him a look – the 'don't bullshit me' look – but he didn't press it. Instead, he said, "Sakura's got the right idea. Let's rest up before we head to the tower."

The Uchiha gave him a hard look, before he begrudgingly agreed. It was only when he'd sat himself down – Sakura miraculously materialising at his side with a self-satisfied giggle, despite her still slightly peaky appearance – that he realised the absurdity of Naruto's words.

"You realise we can't head to the tower, don't you, dobe?" Sasuke shot at him with an arched eyebrow. "This scroll makes _one_. We need the other of the set before we even start to think of heading there." Sakura nodded beside him.

Naruto, however, grinned, causing his two teammates to gawk at him. "No sweat!" He plonked himself down, a small cloud of dust rising from the impact of his ass, and announced in a sing-song voice, "I have another scroll!" And with teeth-baring grin, he drew out the scroll he had obtained from their first enemy, the Ame-nin. "Surprise! I didn't show you it before 'cause it was the same as ours, but now— _**ow!**_"

Both Sasuke and Sakura – hell, maybe even Kaede – slapped him round the head.

"Why the hell did you keep that to yourself?"

"Don't you think we should've known that?"

"We could've used it as a bargaining chip!"

"Idiot!"

"Usuratonkachi!"

Naruto's ears were assaulted by a howl of reprimand, but all he could do was laugh. Eventually, Sasuke and Sakura's excess steam – born possibly from pure relief as their current safety dawned on them – wore out, and Naruto quelled his laughter enough to explain, "It's alright now, none of that matters anymore! We're going to finish the exam, and with all three of us still alive – just a few hours ago, we weren't sure of either!"

However, his words brought a heavy silence as Orochimaru crept into their minds. Sakura unconsciously covered her arm. Thankfully, Kaede broke the silence. She stood and announced, "I have to let my teammates know where I am. You guys should rest here for today. There's enough time for you to take it easy whilst making your way to the finish."

She dusted herself down and made to pick up her weapons (she had been cleaning a few), but Naruto caught her by the hand. She met his eyes, and smiled reassuringly at his unasked question.

"I'll be back, Naruto," she assured him quietly. "I'm not leaving you this time." She straightened. "Besides, all three of you — that _includes_ you, dear Naru-chan — are in too rough a shape to be fending off any more enemies like those Oto-nin, even after a rest. This place still reeks of battle, people will steer clear for a little while, and then I'll be back to help you to the tower."

Sakura smiled with obvious relief. It seemed she had been worrying over the same thing. "Thank you, Kaede-san," she said. Sasuke said nothing, not even looking her way. She didn't take offense. With a quick, parting pat on Naruto's shoulder, she leapt into the trees for a fast getaway. The blonde watched her go for a moment, before turning to his teammates.

"I'll keep watch," was all he said. They didn't argue.

Later, just as dusk was falling around them, Sakura suddenly woke up. She gasped slightly to realise she had slept longer than she intended, wanting to relieve Naruto of his watch so that he, too, could rest. Despite how robust he appeared, she knew he must need recuperation too. She sat up and glanced around.

Not too far away, Sasuke was sleeping. Sakura bit her lip, suddenly inexplicably nervous to see her Sasuke-kun looking so… relaxed. But no. She looked closer, and saw that despite his limp, slumbering posture, his hands were clenched, and a painful frown flickered across his face. She let her eyes slip down from his face, to his collar. There on his neck, the mark Orochimaru had caused stuck out with harsh obviousness against the Uchiha's flushed, almost clammy skin. He looked like he was burning up. Concerned, Sakura moved to place a cold compress dutifully against his skin. She was relieved to see him relax immediately.

After Sasuke quieted – he had been groaning slightly, too, she realised in the silence – she stood, testing out her legs. They no longer shook beneath her, and she felt stronger. The kunoichi let out a relieved sigh, stretching, but cut herself off with a soft yelp, her arm burning slightly.

With soft fingers, Sakura poked at the similar bruise marring her arm, just below the ball of her shoulder. The skin was sore to the touch, and felt hot beneath her fingertips. It wasn't causing her much pain, just a dull, aching sting, but she decided to bandage it nonetheless. This done, she stepped from the tree hollow and out into the evening air. The trees were thick around the small clearing, but even so, the air was fresh.

Not far away sat Naruto. He sat on the stump of a tree, his small bird, 'Natsu' she believed it was called, hopping to-and-fro on his wiggling fingers. Sakura couldn't help but smile slightly as she approached him. He was talking to the little bird, like some kind of bird-whisperer, or—

"What are you, Naruto," she teased him lightly as she sat beside him, "some kind of Cinderella?"

"Hmm?" Naruto turned to her, blinking in bemusement. "Who's that?"

Sakura stared at him. That, she wasn't expecting. "Geez, your parents never tell you fairy-tales?" she asked him, dumbfounded. "They were my favourite bedtime stories!"

Naruto shrugged, a half-bitter smile playing at his lips as he toyed with Natsu again. The bird cheeped. "I'm an orphan, remember, Sakura?" he said quietly. "No parents, no bedtime stories."

Sakura's face fell. She'd just put her foot right in the centre of the crap pile. "Oh— damn, I— I mean…" She hesitated, before she tried to explain, "I know you don't have any parents _now_, but I thought maybe, like Sasuke-kun…" She paused to look at him. "You… didn't know your parents at all?"

"Nope," he replied, shaking his head. And that was all he said. Sakura had to hold back a wince at her own stupidity, but thankfully Naruto noticed her awkwardness, and smiled. "I don't mind being asked, you know, it's fine. Forget it."

The pink-haired kunoichi visibly relaxed. "Anyway…" she said, tactfully moving on. "I… um…" Suddenly, she began to scuff the dirt with her sandals, causing Naruto glance at her curiously. Natsu flitted to the floor and started to pick through the small stones she was overturning with his beak. After a moment, she spoke.

"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura mumbled quietly. "I… I don't know how you did it, but you really saved us. You got us to safety, you defended us… I…" She skimmed his face from the corner of her eye. He knew she was embarrassed, and he knew she realised he knew it. She took a breath. "I was wrong about you," she said. "That's all I wanted to say."

Naruto was looking at her with an almost astonished look on his face. Suddenly, Sakura felt put out. "What?" she defended herself. "I can be gracious, you know!"

"I never said you couldn't be!" the Jinchuuriki exclaimed, trying to keep the laughter from his voice – unsuccessfully. A vein pulsed in Sakura's forehead, and she leapt to her feet.

"Why you—!"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Sakura was cut off mid-exclamation by the return of Kaede. She hadn't even heard her approach.

"Not at all," Naruto replied, his voice suddenly quiet. Sakura looked between the two, and knew it was her cue to leave.

"I'll leave you to it," she excused herself. "I should rest some more." She wasn't sure if they had even noticed her leave.

Kaede silently took Sakura's place beside Naruto, and turned to him. "I've… got so much to tell you, Naruto," she murmured quietly.

"Ah," Naruto agreed, his voice low, subdued. Suddenly, he felt very grave. "You've got a lot to explain."

"But so have you."

They looked at each other for a moment, neither knowing who should go first. Then, Naruto suggested, "Question for a question?"

Kaede nodded, knowing what his question would be. "What are those marks on your teammates?" she asked.

Naruto fixed her with a level stare. There was no humour in his face, only solemnity. "Why did your parents tell me you were dead?"

* * *

**Disclaimer: We Don't Own Naruto**


	11. A Note From NkyOT

I appologise that some of you are getting impatient about the lack of an update on AFD. However, please remember that between my health issues and Dementra's studies, we have a lot on our plates at the moment, and cannot dedicate as much time to writing as we used to. Nonetheless, we are still working on this story, and it's still at the forefront of our fanfiction priorities, just please bare with us.


End file.
